High school boys basketball: Top-ranked Timpview doubles up Orem in dominant region win

Over the past four years, every time Orem and Timpview have tangled on the court — including two playoff games — it has been must-see action, with the past 10 meetings decided by an average of 6.5 points.

Friday night’s first meeting of the season in a packed Orem gym had a similar pregame buzz, but at the end of the day, nationally-ranked Timpview was the only must-see team on the floor.

Timpview shot over 72% from the field and pushed the game to a running clock late in the third quarter in a dominant 72-36 road win over the Tigers.

Timpview, ranked No. 16 nationally by MaxPreps, improved to 13-1 on the season with the resounding victory. Its only loss has come against No. 14 Redondo Union, California, in a pre-Christmas tournament in Las Vegas.

Defense was the catalyst for Timpview’s big win over Orem.

“I thought defensively we were as good as we’ve been all year, just guarding team defense,” said Timpview coach Brad Kitchen.

“I don’t know if Orem played their best game tonight. I have a lot of respect for what (Tigers coach) Jace (Tavita) does. His teams are always well-coached. If a couple baskets go their way, it’s a different game, and so I don’t take anything for granted.”

Will Openshaw led the way for Timpview with 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting, with Dean Rueckert adding 18 points and Mason Ford chipping in 13.

Openshaw recorded back-to-back dunks late in the second quarter that helped Timpview race out to a 40-16 halftime lead.

As good as Timpview was in November and December, an argument could be made that its past two games have been the most impressive of the season.

With a veteran group led by eight seniors, Timpview had very high expectations about winning the championship in the top group at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas before Christmas, but fatigue caught up with the T-Birds in the title game on Dec. 23 as it shot just 6 of 35 from 3-point range.

A win would’ve surely pushed Timpview into the top 10 nationally. With the loss though, Kitchen was curious what type of focus his players return with after getting a week off during the Christmas break.

Even more specifically, he wondered how his group would respond after he scheduled them for a Jan. 2 game against Juan Diego with just one practice since that Redondo Union loss.

“I told our guys, ‘This is my fault. I did a bad job scheduling this game because that’s a trap game, right?,” said Kitchen, “and our guys responded with laser focus. We’re not going to let this be the slip-up, and I was really proud that there wasn’t that letdown.”

Timpview won 80-43, with Rueckert leading the way with 27 points.

“Our guys were really great at being diligent in their craft. They were all doing their conditioning over the break, staying in shape. This is a really mature group of dudes. I have eight seniors and they lead and they’re a great example for my young guys in this program,” said Kitchen.

With a full week off since that Juan Diego win, Timpview was chomping at the bit to get back after it — especially against an Orem team it lost to twice last season.

Already leading comfortably midway through the second quarter 21-12, Timpview blew the game wide open to close the first half as it scored on eight straight possessions over a four-minute stretch to push the lead to 40-14 with a 19-2 run.

Rueckert accounted for 11 of those 19 points, with Openshaw slamming down two emphatic dunks. Many of the buckets came in transition after great defensive stops at the other end.

“We had a couple very individual stellar efforts, Lincoln Holcombe and Will Openshaw, really doing a great job and even (Rueckert),” said Kitchen.

“Deano always gets all the accolades for how he scores the ball. Deano did an excellent job guarding Simeon (Suguturaga) who’s their leading scorer.

“He’s a problem, and Deano did a great job, so I was just really proud of the way we guarded and that translated to being able to play in transition and how we want to play.”

Timpview shot 71% in the first half in building the 40-16 lead.

Orem, meanwhile, struggled against Timpview’s length defensively, shooting just 23%. A bunch of those misses came on contested shots at the rim.

Kitchen acknowledged that on a different day — perhaps in the rematch next month — those shots at the rim could easily go in and it could be an entirely different game.

At the end of the day though, Timpview’s first-year coach said Friday’s game exemplified everything the team has been building toward this season — even while acknowledging it’s one win and there are bigger goals.

“We’re trying to play this team brand of basketball where we don’t care who gets the shot, we just care that we get a shot that is good, high quality, that we like, so that’s kind of our goal in all we’re doing, we’re just trying to get a little bit better every day,” said Kitchen.

The ultimate goal is to snap the school’s 15-year state title drought.