There was a ‘Will’: Timpview’s Openshaw leaves fingerprints all over win against Orem
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- Timpview’s Will Openshaw goes up for a shot against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Will Openshaw dunks the ball against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Lincoln Holcombe (4) takes a 3-pointer in a Region 7 boys basketball game against Orem on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Jackson Palmer passes around Orem’s Juni Moala in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Orem’s Troy Kaufusi dribbles the ball against Timpview in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Will Openshaw (2) defends Orem’s Simeon Suguturaga in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Orem’s Simeon Suguturaga looks to pass against Timpview in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Lincoln Holcombe (4) passes the ball against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Orem boys basketball coach Jace Tevita watches the action against Timpview in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview boys basketball coach Chris Kitchen watches the action against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Dean Rueckert goes up for a shot against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Dean Rueckert drives to the basket against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview’s Will Openshaw takes a shot against Orem in a Region 7 boys basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
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- Timpview boys basketball fans sit on “press row” in a Region 7 game against Orem on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
Timpview six-foot-10 senior Will Openshaw told head coach Chris Kitchen he was going to focus on rebounding to break out of a bit of slump.
So naturally, Openshaw scored the first ten points of Tuesday’s Region 7 matchup with Orem in a 72-53 victory.
That how the game works, especially for the multi-talented Openshaw when he’s in the flow. Shooting, passing, defense and yes, rebounding just happens.
“Size helps, but rebounding is just playing hard,” said Openshaw, who scored 20 points in the win. “When you’re focusing on one thing, you can just get rolling. When you’re rolling you’re not thinking about anything else, you’re just playing the game and taking what it gives you.”
Openshaw knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored twice inside for an early 10-7 Timpview lead.
“Coming into the game he told me, ‘Coach, I’m only focused on rebounding the basketball,'” Kitchen said. “With a lot of these kids, when they’re going through the ups and downs and stuff, can they go back to focus on one thing that they can control? if they can control that, everything else is going to take care of itself. And that’s what happened.
“He’s a special player. If he can continue to keep his mindset on that, the rest of the game is gonna take care of itself. He’s super talented. I have nothing but ultimate faith in him that he he’ll make the right play.”
Lincoln Holcombe scored nine straight for the T-Birds, he and Openshaw combining for 19 of their team’s 22 first-quarter points. Trailing 22-17 heading into the second quarter, Orem got six points from Simeon Suguturaga and 3-pointer from center Juni Moala to close to within two, 34-32, at halftime.
Openshaw and Holcombe scored 12 points each for the T-Birds in the first half while Suguturaga had 13 for the Tigers.
Timpview raced out a 17-6 advantage in the third quarter, with seven points from Openshaw including a soaring two-handed dunk on the break. Kitchen credit his team’s commitment to defense in turning the momentum.
“We made a couple of adjustments,” Kitchen said. “In the third quarter, we just really bought into getting a stop each possession. It came down to one possession at a time defensively, getting stop after stop after stop. As good of an offensive team as we’ve been all year, we hang our hat on and have pride in our defense.”
Openshaw scored on an offensive rebound and the T-Birds led 60-42 after three. Timpview was 8 of 10 from the foul line in the fourth, offsetting nine points from Suguturaga, who finished with 28 for the Tigers.
Timpview has won six state boys basketball titles but the last came in 2010. The T-Birds are No. 1 in RPI in Class 5A and a favorite to win it all at the end of February. Openshaw, along with fellow BYU signee Dean Rueckert, give Timpview two of the best at their positions in the state.
Rueckert is the marquee attraction for the T-Birds, one of the state’s top recruits who recently moved up 100 spots on the Rivals/On3 Ratings board to No. 42 in the Class of 2026. He came into Tuesday averaging 21.6 points per game and was held to ten points but Openshaw, Holcombe and Mason Ford (17 points) made up for it on the offensive end.
“I credit my teammates,” Openshaw said. “It’s not always easy to bring it every day, but there’s always someone with energy and it just kind of spreads. It’s a happiness, it just spreads and it’s contagious. If one person is working hard, everyone is.”
Timpview (18-2 overall, 6-0 5A Region 7) is at Spanish Fork on Friday. Orem (13-9, 4-4) will host Maple Mountain next Tuesday.
