Ogden » In past years, when you thought about Alta basketball, you thought about defense.
The Hawks could guard and do it well. But they haven't always been able to score, and it's led to some early playoff exits, like last season when Weber showed them the door in the first round of the state tournament.
But this year was different. This year, Kyle Davis moved into Alta's school boundaries from out of state. And the 6-foot-7 small forward responded by leading his new school to the top of the heap. Saturday's 46-32 win over Davis High gave the Hawks their first Class 5A state championship in seven years.
When victory was assured in the waning seconds at the Dee Events Center, Davis stood at midcourt, took in the sounds and raised his arms in triumph.
"We proved that we could play great defense today," Davis said. "Coming into the tournament this week, I wanted to do everything that my team needed. I didn't score as much today because that's not what my team needed me to do. I wanted to pass the ball and rebound."
Davis was without a doubt the player of the tournament, scoring 30 points in a quarterfinal win over Skyline and dominating Friday's semifinal against Fremont.
On Saturday, the Southern Utah University signee, who moved into the state from Boise, Idaho, scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both game-highs. He received help from Landon Barlow, who scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds, and from his entire perimeter contingent, who combined to hit seven three-pointers in 11 attempts.
"We knew that Davis was going to come out and play a triangle-and-two defense," Hawks coach Jim Barker said. "I told the guards before the game to just let it fly, and to not hesitate."
That philosophy led to Alta scoring 19 of the game's first 23 points, and the Darts struggled with their offense for the entire game. Davis saw its two best players, Landon Horne and Tallon Burton, go a combined 0-for-14 from the field as Alta's height and length clearly bothered both in the lane.
The Darts did make a run, trailing 30-26 with six minutes remaining. They had a chance to pull within a single basket, but Blake Gardner, the hero of Friday's semifinal win over Copper Hills, missed a layup. And when Barlow made a three-pointer to give Alta a 37-27 lead with three minutes remaining, the game was all but over.
"I'm really proud of the kids," Barker said. "They battled through a lot of adversity this season and every time a team made a run, this team fought back."
Kyle Davis scores 14 points and grabs 12 rebounds.
» Alta goes on a 19-4 run to start the game.
» The Hawks win their first state title in seven years.
