This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Ogden • Not to minimize the main attraction, namely the battle of the Bingham and Pleasant Grove big men, but it was the smaller guys in uniform who really decided their Class 5A boys' basketball semifinal Friday.

And it happened to be the shooters for the defending champion Miners who found their stroke and forged the way for Bingham in a 54-44 victory to get back to the championship game.

When Tanner Davis provided a boost off the bench, it was marksmanship from both starters and reserves that pushed Bingham (23-3) to the victory.

"I came in to provide a spark, play D and play hard and usually the shots will come," said senior Preston Fowlks, a sub who finished with 13 points. "I love the game and have been working on it a lot. It's fun to step up."

The game featured a battle between Bingham's 6-foot-11 center Branden Carlson and 7-4 Pleasant Grove sophomore Matthew Van Komen.

Van Komen led Pleasant Grove (22-4) with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Carlson scored five and grabbed seven boards. Both players consistently altered the shooting trajectory for opposing would-be scorers, and both had a pair of blocks.

"These guys have never seen a guy that big, I don't think. People have to understand that Van Komen is still 5 inches taller than Branden — that's like a 6-6 kid going against a 6-1 kid," Bingham coach Jake Schroeder said. "I thought Brandon did an incredible job. And credit to Matt — I think he's getting better and better."

The game was tied at 28-28 when the Vikings' Keanu Akina hit a shot with 2:22 left in the third.

Then came a 17-2 run by Bingham that essentially put the game out of reach for Pleasant Grove. Fowlks started the run with a 3-pointer and Davis registered eight of the points in that stretch.

The Miners connected on 7 of their 17 long-range attempts and drained all three of their 3-pointers in the final quarter.

"It was the opposite for us. We got some open looks in the second half, but it just seemed like we missed most of them," said Vikings coach Randy McAllister, whose team was 4 for 16 from beyond the arc.

"They just played great. They were on fire," McAllister said. "They shot the ball well, and we just have to do a better job of defending that."

Bingham's largest lead until it burst into the clear in the final stanza was a four-point advantage at the end of the first.

"Once we get rolling, we're pretty tough," Schroeder said. "The key is finding ways to get that run going." —

Bingham 54, Pleasant Grove 44

R Preston Fowlks and Tanner Davis lead Bingham with 13 points apiece with both coming in off the bench.

• Pleasant Grove's 7-foot-4 sophomore Matthew Van Komen scores 12 points and grabs 10 rebounds in his battle with Bingham's 6-11 center, Branden Carlson.

• The Miners shoot 53 percent from 3-point range in the win.