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Ogden • For Brighton, the sight of American Fork uniforms on the opposite bench was a familiar one at the Class 5A state boys' basketball tournament.

Not a pleasant one, mind you, but you can bet any residual bad feelings the Bengals had were mitigated in a big way on Monday.

Brighton avenged a defeat to the Cavemen in last year's state tourney by controlling an opening-round game to the tune of a 60-44 victory at the Dee Events Center.

"Credit to our coach [Jeff Gardner]. We came out and were ready for them — and just put our pedal to the metal," said Brighton senior John Gremillion, who finished with 14 points. "We knew we could get them on this one. We were on fire shooting in that first half."

Gremillion didn't venture outside the 3-point arc for a shot, but teammates Brock Miller, Osa Masina and Derek Devashrayee were all successful in the long-range attempts as Brighton (14-9) grabbed an early lead and never trailed.

Bengals fans are used to seeing Miller, who has signed with Utah State, shoot from three-land. Masina, on the other hand, is more known for football, which he will play at USC.

"I tell you what, he is a great leader and competitor," Gardner said. "He has really elevated our team into a contender. A lot of kids would have said, 'Peace out, I'm out. I'm going to play football.' He could've done that very easily and no one would have blamed him, but his commitment to his teammates is what high school is all about."

The 3-pointers established the early margin, but it was defense and transition play that moved the gap into double digits.

Holding a 13-8 lead early in the second quarter, Masina and Devashrayee both scored on fast breaks. A Devashrayee steal then turned into a bucket for Simi Fehoko — all part of an 8-0 run.

Once in possession of a lead above 10 points, the Bengals never relinquished it.

"We knew that this team was a tough team and we needed to get out to a good start, because that's what gets us going," said Miller, who finished with 24 points. "I think our biggest thing was the defense. Our defense led the offense."

American Fork (14-10), which was led by Spencer Johnson's 19 points, started the last quarter behind 38-22. The Cavemen patiently started chipping away and got the deficit to the 10-point mark on a bucket by Dallin Harley, who finished with 14, at the 5:23 juncture.

But Brighton answered quickly, scoring eight points in just over a minute. When Miller hit a jumper with 3:51 remaining, the margin was right back to 16 again.

"Through the year, when we've got down, we've had trouble coming back," American Fork coach Doug Meacham said. "We're a pretty good team sometimes when the shots are falling early. I think our heads just went down a little bit when the shots didn't fall." —

Brighton 60, American Fork 44

R Brighton avenges a defeat to American Fork in the 2014 state tournament by controlling matters from the onset on Monday.

• All of the Bengals' scoring comes from the starters, with senior Brock Miller leading the way with 24.

• American Fork gets 14 points and 14 rebounds from senior Dallin Harley in the loss.