After losing but once in the regular season, beating teams by an average of 17 points per game and having one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent memory; the Bingham boys' basketball team was rewarded with a first-round playoff game against Lone Peak and freshman sensation Nick Emery.

D'oh!

It may seem unfair, but that was the draw that the USHAA came up with for the Class 5A playoffs. The winner of Region 3 (Bingham) faced off against the fourth place team from Region 4 (Lone Peak) on Tuesday, with the Miners winning 64-53.

"We just got a bad draw this year," said coach Mark Dubach. "Region 3 and 4 are matched up this year, so we were looking at a tough first game no matter who it was."

Yes, you could argue the USHAA has a broken system on its hands, especially when a team like Skyline, which went 11-10 on the regular season, hosts Layton, who went 10-11, while the Miners (now 21-1) and Knights (who finished 17-6) were forced to play each other in the first round.

Dubach would like to see the system changed, especially in a year like this, when one of the state's preseason favorites is guaranteed to have its season come to a close in the first round.

"I think [the USHAA] should adopt what other states are doing," said Dubach. "It should be the one seed versus the 16 seed, the two seed versus the 15 seed and so on."

But since that will not happen this year, Bingham had to put its focus on stopping a Lone Peak team that had one of the best freshman players to sprout up in Utah in years. Nick Emery was nothing short of spectacular in his debut season, averaging 18.3 points per game and showing poise and leadership beyond his age.

Not to be outdone, senior Tannon Pedersen was just as good, hitting 63 three-pointers on the season which has boosted his scoring average to 16.5 per game.

But this is not your older brother's Lone Peak team. For the Knights, this year was more of a rebuilding season, despite the glossy record. Trying to replace players like Tyler Haws (BYU), Josh Sharp (Utah), Jordan Hamilton (Iowa State), and Bracken Funk (Fresno State) is a tough challenge, even for talent-rich Lone Peak.

So Bingham dodges a small bullet in that regard. It kept the same game plan it had the entire year: Get the ball to 6-foot-8 center Ben Clifford in the post. At that point, the Miners dare you to defend the Utah State commit one on one. If you choose to double team him, Clifford has a plethora of choices on who he wants to kick the ball out to.

There's Nate Girsberger, who is averaging 10.4 points per game and has made 39 three-pointers on the year. There's Ty Hannay, who is at 9.4 points per game and has made 34 three-pointers.

And then there's senior point guard Shad Sommerville. Co-captain alongside Clifford, Sommerville is a fiery competitor that controls the flow of the game for coach Dubach. He is averaging 10.5 points per game, and led the Miners in assists this season.

So why is this edition of the Miners so good? They've been playing with each other since they were little kids and according to Dubach just know how to play together. Something that too often is overlooked.

Last year, West Jordan rode a trio of seniors to the 5A title. Mason Sawyer, Jordan Weirick and Rey Gallegos had all played together for years and it culminated with a championship victory over Lone Peak.

Bingham hopes its group of seniors will bring home its first state title since 2006. The Miners started by dispatching last year's runner-up.

"No sense in crying about it now," said Dubach. "We have to keep playing our brand of ball."