Timpanogos used all the toughness its harnessed through some amped-up practice sessions in blitzing Summit Academy 84-40 in the first round of the 4A state playoffs on Tuesday.

From the get go the Timberwolves were locked in from the opening tip on and separated themselves particularly well during a second quarter, which saw the home team outscore the visiting Bears 28-8 to build a commanding 45-19 lead at the half.

“We’ve been doing it all year after our rough start to the season, but we practice like champions,” said Timpanogos coach Golden Ingle. “These guys bring it every day in practice and it’s starting to translate to the game, which it often does, and you get the results like we had tonight. It’s fun to watch.”

To say the Timberwolves’ start to the season was rough may be an understatement.

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Eight games into the start of the season Ingle’s team found itself winless, although it proved competitive in most of those first few contests. But instead of hang their heads the team regathered, upped the focus and the effort, and the wins started coming.

“The team gets along great, but you wouldn’t know it about how they practice against one another,” Ingle said. “They really go at it hard, like they’re enemies. I’ve had to call practice off one time after a kid got his tooth knocked out and I thought another kid broke his nose. But that’s what this team is. They love to compete and they love competing against one another. They don’t take any practices off.”

“When you start 0-8 it makes you want to work harder, and we’ve been beating up on each other all year during practices, and now it’s time to start beating up on some other teams,” said Timpanogos guard Chaz Rose. “We get in fights during practices all the time, but we love going at it like that.”

As mentioned, it’s all combined to set Timpanogos on a positive course entering the state playoffs. Three straight wins topped off the regular season for the Timberwolves, which included a tough 70-68 win over Region 8 champion Provo.

“We never should have been 0-8 to start the season, but the important thing is that we learned from it,” Ingle said. “It’s taken everyone, and that’s the great thing about this team. We have a lot of leaders. Not real vocal leaders, but leaders that lead by example, and that’s the best way to lead. They hold each other accountable and you can certainly see that with how they practice every day.”

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Leading the way for the Timberwolves in Tuesday’s win was Jaxen McCuistion, who led all scorers with 23 points despite sitting out for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Most of Timpanogos’ starters sat for the final eight minutes due to the course of the game, which allowed Ingle to play every single player on the bench, and they responded well.

“They just said in the locker room that every single player on the team got into the stat book, whether it was a shot, a rebound, a steal or anything. Everyone got their names in the stat book, which is just awesome,” Ingle said. “Those players on the bench, they practice as hard as anyone and every single one of them is a big reason for our success as a team.”

With the win Timpanogos advances to the second round where it will take on Juan Diego, the same team that dealt the Timberwolves a tough 62-56 loss back on December 29.

“When Glenn Tucket was at Alabama, he said that they don’t believe in revenge, but they believe in paying their debts, and that’s the case with Juan Diego. We owe them one,” Ingle concluded.