For Cottonwood boys basketball head coach Marc Miller, it is nice to start the season with six straight wins, and yet in his mind there is still much work left to do. 

“We are playing good enough to win but are not executing at a level we feel we need to be playing at,” said Miller, who guided the Colts to the 4A state championship game two years ago. 

It appears that the only goal Cottonwood has, in this still-young season, is to win that elusive 4A state title. 

“We have played a lot of players which has been good and we will continue to get better as we play more games together in the coming weeks,” added Cottonwood’s coach.  

The Colts won 47-40 at Brighton Nov. 19 to tip off the season. Behind 15 and 14 points apiece from juniors Malei Atem and Luka Cecez, and another 14 from senior Tengis Bayaslgalan, Cottonwood led from beginning to end, despite being outrebounded 34-28. 

On Nov. 25, Cottonwood withstood an 18-point fourth quarter from Riverton to hang on and win the Colts’ home opener, 55-52. Atem again led the way with 21 and added 15 rebounds, though Cottonwood was outrebounded by 12. 

Back at home for a Dec. 2 showdown against Clearfield, it was the third straight opponent from a higher classification for Cottonwood that had four players reach double figures, led in this game by senior Tengis Bayasgalan who poured in 15 points on four threes, a bucket and a free throw, in the 59-57 win. 

Cottonwood then hit the road for three games, starting with a contest at Logan Dec. 4. The Colts blasted the home team 82-59 on the strength of 28 points from junior Luka Cecez, who reached the free throw line 16 times, hitting 13. Bayasgalan drilled seven threes for a total of 23 points and two other players reached double figures. 

They traveled up the highway in the big yellow bus for their next game against Sky View, Dec. 5. In that game, Cottonwood shot 45% from the field and 43 from three-point range en route to a 58-55 win. 

The Colts would wrap up their road trip to Cache Valley by heading back toward Logan Canyon for a Dec. 6 contest at Mountain Crest. Cottonwood trailed for the first time all season at 17-13 after one quarter of play in Hyrum. In the second quarter, the Colts held Mountain Crest to just three points and grabbed a commanding 22-20 halftime lead before taking a 49-44 win to remain unbeaten. 

That win streak, however, ended against fellow unbeaten Westlake in a 59-47 loss. The Colts shot 40% from the field and an ice-cold 27% from three. 

For Cottonwood (6-1), many players are playing roles in the Colts success. The two juniors, Cecez and Atem, lead the team in scoring and rebounding at 16 and 10, respectively. A senior guard, Itay Lustgarten, leads the way, averaging six assists per game. Meanwhile, fellow senior guard Bayasgalan tops the Colts in shooting, inside and outside the three-point arc. 

It is that depth that Miller talked about to City Journals that is cause for some excitement, however tempered by the Cottonwood coach. 

To have the ability to play more than eight guys in a game at this juncture is likely going to be rewarded at some point in the near future. 

In the meantime, the grind of nonregion games continues for a few more weeks in December, before the Colts begin their defense of their Region 10 title. 

For Miller, the season has only just begun, and so he added that he’s holding out hope these good times continue. 

“All in all, we have played some good teams and have some tough games coming up these next two weeks before Christmas break and hopefully we can continue to play well enough to win.”