It's too early to say the clock has struck midnight on the Hillcrest boys' basketball team's impressive start to the season, but after losing three of the last four, the young team is getting a taste for adversity for the first time.

The Huskies started the season 4-0 under first-year coach Sam Richins and, regardless of recent outcomes, are headed in the right direction even at 5-3. Two of those losses came to Judge Memorial and Highland, who are both ranked high in their respective classes.

Richins, who was the assistant for eight years under former coach Brad Tingey, has the team performing despite not having the benefit of a single returning starter from last season. Perhaps it was the promotion of Richins, but the Huskies certainly have a better idea of what it takes to win this season. He credits the Huskies' success to that very fact, and the renewed energy the team has come into the season with.

"The boys are playing extremely hard and they're putting a full effort in every game, and the same can be said for practice," said Richins.

"[For now] I can take the losses when they play as hard as they can and come up short. There's potential there to surprise some people because they lay it out there. They really do."

Senior Bridger Dallimore been one of those forces pushing Hillcrest to their success. After playing limited minutes last season, Dallimore has nearly played every minute the Huskies have played this season.

"He's the glue that keeps the team together," said Richins. "Just demands his teammates play as hard as he does."

Olympus

The Titans are enjoying another strong preseason and, as far as coach Matt Barnes is concerned, no news is good news.

Aside from the usual ankle sprains and sicknesses that all teams endure, the Titans won't be changing much as they round out their game in their final preseason games.

"The region is, as it normally is, very competitive and we're still striving to get better in areas every day and get ourselves ready," said Barnes.

Three-year starters Joe Bourne, Will Watkins and Connor Brady bring back a very familiar lineup. Nick Paulos got limited minutes last season coming off the bench but thus far has led the Titans in scoring, averaging nearly 15 points per game. Center Benn Sonntag fills out the rest of the starting lineup, with Spencer Harris and Manny Riak adding to the incredible depth the Titans boast this season.

With the exception of a 59-47 loss to Alta earlier in December, the Titans aren't finding much to complain about. Barnes may insist there is something to learn from every day, but Olympus is as experienced as it gets as far as high school sports are concerned. With twelve seniors on the roster, the Titans have been through enough preseasons.

Brighton

It may have been short, but the Bengals made the best of their preseason this season.

The Bengals may have only played six games in the preseason, but the competition certainly made up for it. Finishing with an impressive 5-1 record, Brighton beat highly ranked teams such as West Jordan, Riverton and Judge Memorial as they answered most of the questions they had coming into the season.

Senior Sam Wunderli has lived up to the expectations coach Lyndon Johnson had going back to last season as he has averaged over 18 points per game. As a sophomore last season, Corbin Miller was a primary source of production and has taken his game to new heights as well as he is just behind Wunderli, averaging 14 points per game.

Much of last season was up and down for the Bengals as the young team struggled to find the consistency necessary for success. Now, after the region realignment, they must be perfect every time they step out on the court from here on out because their new region rivals include Lone Peak, American Fork, Alta and Jordan, all teams that have the talent to win the state championship.