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It's no accident that it looks at times as if the Woods Cross basketball players know what each other is going to do before someone does it on the court.
Most of these Wildcats have been playing competitively together since they were in third grade. This week's Class 4A state tournament is a culmination of all those years of work.
Led by star Trevin Knell, Woods Cross played with a chip on its shoulder and pulled away from Orem in the second half to take a 61-41 first-round win in Tuesday's Huntsman Center opener.
Knell came out firing, hitting four 3-pointers in the first half, on his way to a 26-point, seven-rebound, four-steal performance.
He said he and his teammates noticed a few in the media said this would be a difficult first-round game with an upset possible.
That didn't sit well with a league champion that brought a 21-2 record into the tournament and is on a quest to win the Wildcats' first boys' title since 1983.
"Before the game, we saw the media said this would be a hard game for us," Knell said. "We took it personally."
Orem, a fourth-place team led by Puka Nacua, who had 20 points, did stay with the Wildcats for about 2 1/2 quarters. But Woods Cross got serious when the Tigers closed to within 33-25 early in the third.
Taylor Smith scored off an offensive rebound and Cameron Allen did the same. Then Knell capped the run, and Woods Cross suddenly had a 12-point lead. The closest Orem would get was seven after that.
Smith's and Allen's two offensive rebounds were just one example of the Wildcats' high basketball IQ.
"These kids have been playing competitive basketball since they were in third grade," Woods Cross coach Kasey Walkenhurst said. "They know each other and they know where they are going to be. And sometimes the ball just bounces your way."
The coach said his team's experience at state last year helped. He said that and the fact that Orem started missing shots it made earlier helped propel the Wildcats to an easy victory.
Twitter @tribtomwharton