6A state boys basketball: Davis denies top-seed Herriman first-ever title in championship win

SALT LAKE CITY — They say basketball is a game of runs, and the Davis Darts made the final run Thursday night at the Huntsman Center to come back and upset No. 1 seed Herriman in the 6A boys title game.

"We just happened to go on the run at the right time," Davis head coach Chad Sims said. "I mean, if there was another quarter, maybe they would have made that run, too."

A back-and-forth first half ended in a tight 34-30 lead for Herriman, and the Mustangs seemed ready to run away with their first-ever state title after taking a 41-34 lead with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter.

Davis continued a steady diet of 3-pointers and free throws, however — after not making a single trip to the charity stripe in the first half — and the game was tied at 50-50 in the fourth quarter.

Sims called a timeout after Herriman's Carlo Mulford hit a 3-pointer to go up 53-50, and that was when the run began.

Davis rattled off a 17-2 stretch and outscored Herriman 25-13 over the remaining 4:52 to leave no doubt and return to the summit for the first time since 2021. The Darts improved upon the zero in the free-throw column in the first half by going 18-of-19 from the line in the second half for a 75-66 final score.

Davis senior Coleman Atwater led the way by going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line as part of a game-high 24 points in his final high school game.

"We believed the whole time, you know. There was never a doubt in our minds," Atwater said. "And I think that's what showed towards the end of the game. I think that's why we prevailed in the end. Shout out to my teammates and my coaches for trusting not only in me but in each other. That's what it takes to win."

Mulford — a junior — led the way for Herriman with 23 points, followed by 21 from senior Cale Barclay as the only other player to score 20 points in the game.

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