Bountiful » If a team wants to double-team Bingham's Ben Clifford, the 6-foot-9 Utah State signee has a plethora of shooters to whom he can pass the ball.
If a team wants to guard the three-point line, then Clifford has free rein to go to work in the post.
And that's why the Miners are one of the favorites to win the Class 5A state title this year.
On Friday night, Bountiful chose the former, doubling Clifford and not allowing the senior to catch the ball in the lane. The Braves paid for that strategy, as Bingham hit threes all night in an 84-48 win that may not have been that close.
"We just kind of caught fire from the perimeter," senior guard Nate Girsberger said. "We're going to be pretty good this year. We had some open looks tonight, and we were lucky that they went in."
Girsberger was lights out from beyond the arc. The shooting guard scored a game-high 21 points, and hit seven threes that accounted for all of his scoring.
Logan Parker was great all night, scoring 16, while Clifford was his usual self.
A power forward, Clifford scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. It was his second consecutive double-double to start the season. What's more, with Bountiful making it difficult to get the ball inside, Bingham's shooters had a field day from the perimeter.
The game was close for the first five minutes. Then the Miners took over, and they would break the game open with a 25-7 run in the second quarter.
"We were able to push the ball in transition," Clifford said. "Once we did that, we had some great shooters and they were knocking down shots. It made us tough tonight."
Nate Girsberger scores a game-high 21 points
» Ben Clifford scores 10 points and grabs 10 rebounds
» Bingham improves to 2-0 on the season.
