From Deseret News archives:
High school basketball: Peck's big game lifts Miners
BYU gridiron recruit scores 26 in win over rival Riverton
If given a chance, and if he played basketball as he did Friday night, Peck could evolve into a two-sport star for the Cougars. The senior had the game of his life against rival Riverton, racking up 26 points and making big shot after big shot down the stretch to lead the Miners to the thrilling 63-57 victory.
"Every time I touched the ball, if I had the chance to score I had the confidence it was going in. I could just feel it," said Peck, who signed his letter of intent to play football for BYU earlier this week.
Peck scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, including eight straight during a stretch that pushed Bingham ahead 56-53 despite trailing 53-48 just a few minutes earlier.
"He made some big time shots. He's a big-time gamer, and that's why he's going to a big-time school to play football. We're just proud of him," Bingham coach Mark Dubach said. "We don't really care who scores, we just want to win the game."
The victory was Bingham's fifth straight and helped it seize control of the unpredictable Region 3 with a 5-1 record.
None of it would have been possible without Peck. With Bingham's biggest scoring threat, Ben Clifford, on the bench early in the third quarter with foul trouble, Peck took it upon himself to pick up the scoring slack in a game featuring five lead changes and 10 ties.
Peck was at his best when Bingham needed him the most. With Riverton trailing 46-41 early in the fourth quarter, it scored on six of its next seven possessions to seize momentum in front of the packed gymnasium for the 53-48 lead. Peck responded by quickly trimming the deficit to 53-50 with a running lay-up, but it was his back-to-back 3-pointers shortly thereafter that put Bingham ahead for good.
Riverton closed to within 56-55 and then 60-57 in the final two minutes, but the Miners knocked down 5-of-6 free throws to seal the victory.
"Riverton plays as good a team basketball as I've seen, and we're just thankful to get out of here with a win," said Dubach, whose team made 24 of 44 shots from the field.
Bingham looked poised to run away from its rivals early, jumping out to a 22-10 lead, but it quickly self-destructed as five straight turnovers contributed to a 17-5 run by Riverton to close the half with the game tied at 27-27.
Earlier in the season Bingham might have struggled bouncing back mentally from the blown lead, but things have changed lately, according to Dubach.
"We believe you learn from adversity. I schedule an unbelievably brutal preseason to take some adversity," he said. "We've made some changes in our personnel, who plays and who doesn't play as much, and it's been very successful for us. We've just been a better team."
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
