5A boys high school basketball: Bingham bombs Northridge out of the tournament

WEST VALLEY CITY — The E Center, with its spacious surroundings and deep sight lines for shooters, isn't supposed to be a place where basketball teams can shoot from the outside.

Bingham defied that notion in its 78-56 win over Northridge in the first round of the 5A tournament in the late game on Monday. The Miners advance to play Weber in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

After a competitive first quarter, the Miners went on a 22-3 run to put the game away before halftime. Shad Sommerville hit two 3-pointers during the spurt, while Ben Clifford and Krahenbuhl each contributed two baskets.

The Miners drained seven 3-pointers before halftime to build a 40-20 lead at the break. Bingham shot 57 percent from the field in the first half.

"We made a good run," said Bingham coach Mark Dubach. "We tried to calm our kids down when we subbed them out and got into an up-tempo style and it worked out for us."

The Miners' superior depth wore down the Knights during the second quarter. Bingham also did an outstanding job of sharing the ball, as it had a total of 19 assists.

"We came out and got on a roll," said Bingham forward Remington Peck. "I think the biggest thing is we had fun and played as a team and things worked out for us."

Bingham made sure to put the game away shortly after halftime, as it went on a 10-1 run to start the third quarter.

"Playing more kids than them allowed us to outrun them down the stretch and really kind of end the thing in the third quarter," Dubach said.

Peck continued his stellar senior season, as he had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes of play. Clifford had 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots for the Miners. Sommerville added 15 points and three 3-pointers.

The Knights kept the game competitive in the first quarter before going ice cold from the field in the second quarter. Northridge made just 7 of 28 shots in the first half and were 32 percent from the field for the game. Tanner Hendry scored 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Knights, Tyce Bockwoldt had 12 points and Blake Smithing had 11.

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com