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It's still early in the Region 3 5A campaign, but the Bingham Miners have reason to be happy about their eighth-straight victory on the road Friday night against a foe who, like themselves, has been a top five team in the first part of the schedule.
Behind 14 points from Kyle Gearig and 13 more from Yoeli Childs, Bingham (12-2, 2-0) defeated Copper Hills, 56-46.
"It was just a grind just one of those games. You make foul shots, you miss foul shots and it's just a physical, fun region game," Bingham coach Jake Schroeder said. "This is one of those places I don't know how many of the teams in our region are going to get a win. It's a tough place, and they're extremely well-coached."
Tied at 19-19 at halftime, Bingham got a little breathing room when Josh Newbold hit a pair of 3s to start the third quarter. Those treys were spread out over five minutes as Copper Hills (9-5, 0-2) came out of the locker room ice cold.
Eventually, the Grizzlies reduced the margin to only two when a Bailey Brooks bucket was followed by a Charlie Olsen free throw with 50 seconds left in the third.
That made the score 30-28, but a strong move in the post by Childs finished the period, pushing the lead back up to four. Then Gearig scored on a put-back to start the fourth and was followed by a turnaround jumper from Childs as Bingham rebuilt the cushion.
At the same time, the Miners started getting their hands on Grizz shots. Childs and Newbold both recorded a pair of blocks as Bingham eventually rolled out to a 47-34 lead.
"It's not necessarily the goal to block shots, but to alter them and make them tougher shots. And we have really good help defense," said Childs, who also yanked down 13 rebounds. "We started very slow, but we can't do that again when they come to our place. I'm glad we could pick it up."
"We're pretty fortunate. We've got some length and some guys who can jump," Schroeder said. "When we get those tips and get out on the run, that's when we're at our best."
Preston Sanchez scored 13 points to lead Copper Hills. While Bingham celebrated a good win early in the 3-5A slate, the loss put the Grizzlies in an early two-loss hole with a game against West Jordan coming Tuesday.
"I thought we played well enough to win, but we just didn't execute on a couple of plays offensively," Copper Hills coach Andrew Blanchard said. "Especially at the beginning of the third."
Bingham 56, Copper Hills 46
R Kyle Gearig leads the Miners with 14 points.
• Bingham's Yoeli Childs scores 13 points and pulls down 13 rebounds.
• Preston Sanchez's 13 points are a Copper Hills team high.