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Kaysville • It would have been easy to write off defending 5A champion Layton this season as the Lancers struggled to a 2-7 mark to open the season with star Julian Blackmon recovering from an injury.
But after taking an impressive 62-50 victory at arch-rival Davis on Friday night to take control of the Region Two race, no one should write off Layton just yet.
"We started off slow," said Blackmon, who scored 19 points, dished out three assists, recorded five steals and had five rebounds against the Darts. "I came off the injury and we were not together as a team. We hadn't played together. But we are playing better and better since then."
Lancer coach Kelby Miller couldn't argue with that. He said that in Blackmon's absence, he had to ask his players to play out of position or learn new ways to fit into the system. Now those players have experience.
"We are definitely better than the first time we played everybody," said Miller, whose team defeated the Darts by two points at Layton earlier in the year. "We have that championship experience from last year. You can never underestimate the heart of a champion, that's for sure."
In the electric atmosphere of a physical rivalry game, the Lancers started slow. Davis' Jarrett Gardner, who led all scorers with 26 points and added 10 rebounds, started the game with two three-pointers. And Layton did not score until 3:20 into the contest.
But the Lancers used a 14-0 run to start the second quarter and never relinquished that lead.
Davis fought back to within five points earlier in the third quarter, but the Lancers went on another run as Aubrey Chandler got hot. Layton, which improved to 11-8 on the season and 8-1 in league play, was never seriously threatened in the fourth quarter.
"This was a great game for us," said Blackmon. "Basketball is a game of runs and we needed to just stay calm."
Davis is a talented bunch with height and some good shooters. But the Darts achilles heel was their free throw shooting. They were 15 for 27 from the line and lost by 12 points.
Layton 62, Davis 50
R Julian Blackmon scores 19 points, has five steals, three assists and five rebounds to lead Layton.
• Defending 5A champion Layton sweeps rival Davis on the season and takes control of Region Two.
• Jarrett Gardner scores 26 points and hauls down 10 rebounds for Davis.