BILLINGS — Effortless may be the best word to describe Harlowton-Ryegate senior Kenyan Davis.
Everything he does on the basketball floor looks like it comes with ease — especially putting the ball in the hoop. Davis averages just shy of 30 points a night for the Engineers, which includes a high of 51 on Feb. 11 against Northern Cheyenne.
“A lot of times when a kid, especially in a smaller school, scores a lot of points like that it's not always necessary," Harlowton-Ryegate coach Jonathan Olsen said. "That game we needed it. We were down 10 at half. He was doing a really good job attacking the basket. So we said until they stop it we've got to keep going to that.
“The other kids did a great job of finding him and getting him in spots where he could score, and he was being really aggressive. It was fun to watch. You don't get to see something like that very often."
Davis isn't just jacking up shots, either. He's been efficient in his highest-scoring games, including scoring 47 points in loser-out play on Saturday morning at the District 5C tournament. He went 17 of 27 from the field in the win.
Davis was a big piece of the Engineers' run to the consolation game at the State C tournament last year. Harlowton-Ryegate graduated some key contributors, but they left an impact on Davis that he’s sharing with his current teammates.
“Just how to work together, be a better person overall and work as a team. They really helped with everything," Davis said.
“We had some really great leaders on that team. Bergen (Mysse) was a great leader. Angus (Glennie) was a great leader. They carried that team for a lot of years leadership-wise. (Davis) knew he had to fill that void and he's done a great job. He's not always the most vocal, but he plays hard and leads by example," Olsen said.
The fortunes haven’t always favored Davis, though. He lost his dad while in elementary school and uses his memory as motivation.
“I play for my dad. He passed away when I was younger, so I go do it for him. He was my best friend. Every day he'd help me with everything I'd do, so I do it for him," Davis said.
“When we're going through workouts and banter back and forth when we're playing one-on-one, that's fun," Olsen said. "We've developed a pretty good trusting relationship back and forth. That's special. Sometimes you take it for granted, but if you kick back and think about enjoying it, I think that's really important."
That love has turned into the ultimate fuel for Davis, as he’s helped guide the Engineers back to the Southern C divisional tournament.
