From Deseret News archives:
High school basketball: Miners bomb from outside to beat Jaguars
But once inside duo Remington Peck and Ben Clifford became the focus of West Jordan's defensive efforts, the Miners turned to a different tool — outside shooting — to get the job done.
For the Jaguars, stopping Bingham on the perimeter ended up being as futile as trying to stop raindrops from falling during a storm.
The Miners drilled a dozen 3-pointers — including eight in the first half alone — to coast to a 76-55 victory on Friday night. Five different Bingham players drained at least a pair from long-range — led by senior forward Blake Krahenbuhl, who hit four.
"We knew we had to make some big shots outside," said Krahenbuhl, who led the Miners with 18 points. "Once we (do) that, it opens up down low for those big boys. Makes it a lot easier for them."
It also made sprinting out to big leads much easier, too.
Krahenbuhl used his first couple of 3-pointers to help Bingham (11-5, 4-1) start the game with an 11-2 run.
When Mason Sawyer set up Tyson Holt for a traditional three-point play and followed with his own driving layup to help West Jordan to rally to within a point at 18-17, Bingham heated up from outside once again.
Shad Somerville buried a pair 3-pointers and Nate Girsberger followed with two more on back-to-back possessions to fuel a 23-7 run that put Bingham up 41-24 34 seconds into the third quarter.
The Jaguars (12-4, 3-2) managed to cut the lead to 12 when Rayes Gallegos pulled up and buried an 18-foot jumper to make it 48-36 with three minutes left in the quarter. But Krahenbuhl helped bury West Jordan for good by draining consecutive 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter, giving Bingham a 59-37 lead with 7:02 left.
"We've played a lot of good games," Miners coach Mark Dubach said. "This is the best shooting effort we've had."
It couldn't have come at a better time. Bingham has won four straight games since losing its Region 3 opener to Riverton. The Miners had a solid chance to win that one as well before letting a big lead slip away in the fourth quarter.
Beating West Jordan certainly has all the trappings of a statement-making victory, But the last thing Dubach wants is to have his team get ahead of itself. He said the Miners need to make shooting performances like they enjoyed against the Jaguars become the rule rather than the exception.
"I need my guard line to be able to score when they double team the post and we were able to do that today," Dubach said. "If we continue to do that, we'll get better every game. We want to peak at the right time."
Post play wasn't as noticeable with all the flashy results from the perimeter, but it was still plenty effective for Bingham. Peck finished with 16 points and collected seven rebounds, while Clifford chipped in 12 points.
Gallegos led the Jaguars with 23 points. West Jordan has split its last six games after starting 9-1.
E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com
