The Bengals are on a retreat. On Sunday, the Brighton High boys' basketball team set out for Gillette, Wyo., a long way to go to play three basketball games.

But Brighton coach Lyndon Johnson is hoping that the 1,200-mile round-trip bus ride and playing out-of-state competition will strengthen the team's cohesiveness and help the players figure out their identity as a team.

"For the most part, the best thing is just being together and being able to play very good competition," Johnson said. "It's a good experience and it will help prepare us for region play."

The Bengals don't have too much to work on. Heading into the season, Brighton was an early favorite, having returned a majority of last year's team that went 12-10. The Bengals have two of last season's top three scorers in junior Corbin Miller and senior Sam Wunderli, who are averaging 14.3 and 18.2 points a game, respectively. Austin Hudson has given the offense a boost, too, with 10.3 points a game.

The Bengals have a good balance of quality perimeter players and a strong inside presence. And defenses have had a hard time keying in on one player.

Against Bingham on Dec. 18, the top team in 5A in the preseason, the Miners were successful in slowing down Miller, putting him in foul trouble and limiting his playing time. But that's when Wunderli stepped up the offensive production. He had a slow first quarter but scored 13 points in the final five minutes of the first half. He finished with a game-leading 21 points.

"He's improved his perimeter game tremendously and he's doing a lot of things we need," Johnson said. "It's nice to have more than one big scorer because it's hard enough to defend one player. It's harder for opponents to have to stop all of us."

The chemistry the team developed a year ago has set the foundation for this season. The team is more experienced and the players are more used to each other's tendencies.

Johsnon knew the skills were there and it was just a matter of getting this team better competition. That's why the coaching staff put together a tough preseason schedule.

Brighton has done well, heading into the Wyoming tournament with a 5-1 record, including wins over Riverton and Class 5A defending champion West Jordan.

"We definitely know people are out to get us," Miller said. "We just want to keep our focus and take it a game at a time. We just gotta keep working."

The Bengals know a very challenging region schedule awaits them when they return. So Brighton is going to make the most of their time in Wyoming.

"We're always going to have a lot of things to improve but it's just a work in progress," Johnson said. "We're where we need to be and we're making strides."

mthach@sltrib.com