According to Cottonwood High School boys basketball head coach Marc Miller, it was hard for him to know which way his Colts might go, back in early December. 

And in mid-December, the worst things he envisioned took place. 

The Colts dropped two of their next four heading into the outset of Region 10 play, including a mind-numbing 55-54 loss to rival Murray at home. 

That loss on Dec. 18 kind of proved what Miller thought of this bunch; it was a WIP—a work in progress that, for whatever reason, had not been figured out. Not by players, nor the coaching staff. 

After an 11-day break—much needed to calm the nerves of everyone involved—the Colts started winning again. On Dec. 29, they blasted Summit Academy by 20 points, even. 

And yet when Cottonwood got back to Region 10 action at East Jan. 6, a similar thing happened to the Colts; they lost by four. It marked the second time in two league games that the Colts fell by fewer than five. 

In both of those losses, the Colts shot horribly from the field; as a matter of fact, they only knocked down 46%, in each of the two games. 

When Cottonwood (11-6, 3-2 Region 10) hits their shots though, this Colts team is darned near impossible to beat. Judge Memorial Catholic, a newcomer to Region 10, found that out on Jan. 8—just two days after Cottonwood lost at East. 

The Colts allowed Judge to take the game to overtime. But, in the OT periods, Cottonwood proved too much for the Bulldogs, riding Malei Atem’s 30 points to a 66-60 victory in two overtimes. In addition, the Cottonwood junior had 13 rebounds and five steals. 

On Jan. 13, Cottonwood made it two out of two thus far against Salt Lake City’s Catholic private schools, needing zero Hail Mary’s in a 59-49 win over Juan Diego. In this one, junior Luka Cecez poured in 19 points and had four blocks, while three other Colts had 10 in supporting roles. 

For this Cottonwood team that seems to still be finding itself, and is in uncharted territory at 3-2 in the league, it is kind of playing out the way that Miller envisioned. The Colts are still not a team loaded with senior leadership, and so there are games in which they seem to be lacking that one player who can take over a game from both a mental and physical standpoint. 

The positives? When you look at the team’s two leading scorers, both are juniors. Cecez is averaging 19 points per game, and is rounding into becoming one of the top big men in Utah. The 6-foot-9-inch, 195 pounder is also capable of playing three positions, and is averaging seven rebounds and four blocks per contest, as a junior. 

The team’s second leading scorer, however, may be making the most strides out of anyone from this Cottonwood group. The 6-foot-5-inch, 195-pound junior Atem has seen his points, rebounds, assists and steals explode from 4-4-1-1 to 14-8-3-4 in just one season. 

Senior Tengis Bayasgalan is averaging 11 points per game, just a tick up from his numbers last season. He leads the team in 3-point shooting, draining 43% on the year. 

One player to keep your eye on, however, is senior Itay Lustgarten. He leads the team with five assists per game. Another Colt putting up his best numbers in a long career is senior Tommy Yates, who is averaging four points, three rebounds and three assists.