West Jordan » The equation for the Bingham High boys' basketball team is a mighty simple one this season.

If the guards make shots from the perimeter, and make teams pay for double-teaming Ben Clifford and Remington Peck in the post, the Miners are a dangerous team capable of making a run deep into the Class 5A state playoffs.

Conversely, if the guards go cold from outside, and teams are able to sag their defenses down low, Bingham becomes average in a hurry.

There's no gray area in this. On Friday night, however, the Miners were more than hot in their 76-55 shellacking of West Jordan on the road.

They simply couldn't miss.

In defeating the Jaguars and putting themselves in position to make a run at the Region 3 title, Bingham hit 12 -- count 'em, 12 -- shots from beyond the arc. The Miners received a team-high 18 points from Blake Krahenbuhl. Peck went for 16 points, and Clifford scored 12 and locked up the middle.

"This was just a great team effort tonight," Krahenbuhl said. "They sagged down in the middle and Ben was able to make great passes tonight and we were able to make our shots. This was a great win for us."

And it was never close. Bingham led by 12 at halftime, and the Miners were able to steadily stretch out their advantage over the course of the second half. Bingham forced turnovers and turned them into fast-break points. The Miners got stop after stop on defense, which frustrated West Jordan into hurried shots.

Bingham, on the other end, was so efficient in its execution. The Miners, for one night, looked like one of the most balanced teams in the state.

Thing is, the Jaguars received good production from their triumvirate of guards, Reyes Gallegos, Mason Sawyer and Jordan Weireck.

Gallegos, the Nebraska signee, scored a game-high 23 points. Sawyer, headed to Boise State next season, scored 13 and Weireck added nine.

But, with those three combining to score 45 points, the rest of the team scored just 10. And many of those points came after the game was well over.

"People made alot of shots for us tonight and our effort was great tonight on both ends of the court," Miners coach Mark Dubach said. "In the past we haven't been able to make shots. Tonight, we made shots."

With the win, Bingham improves to 4-1 in Region 3, and 11-5 overall. The victory also keeps the Miners in a first place tie with Riverton, who won handily over Kearns. The two teams meet, at Bingham, next Friday night.

tjones@sltrib.com