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Samuta Avea stood at midcourt in the dying seconds of the Class 5A boys' basketball championship.

As he waited for the mass exodus of reserves to clear the bench and relieve the starters from their duties, Avea used his right index finger and thumb to measure his ring finger.

For the first time since 2006, the Miners are ordering jewelry after defeating Copper Hills, 61-44, for the third time this season on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.

"I'll be honest: I'm numb," said Bingham coach Jake Schroeder. "I've always dreamed of this. When I was a player, we were on the other end. I'm just happy for these guys."

Bingham (24-2) finished the season with 18 consecutive wins. During the stretch, the Miners averaged 69.3 points per game and registered 15 wins by double figures, including the final seven games. Bingham's average margin of the victory in the 18 games: 20.7 points.

"The craziest thing about these guys, it drives me nuts sometimes, but they honestly think they can't be beat," Schroeder said. "It doesn't matter if we're up 10, down 10, they think they're going to win no matter what."

The Miners' only in-state loss was at the hands of Copper Hills (22-4) in the Elite 8 Tournament championship in December — the first of four meetings. In that game, Yoeli Childs erupted for 37 points after enjoying a career night from downtown, with six 3-pointers. The Miners evolved from the performance. They needed a more balanced attack rather than relying heavily on Childs.

"I think this is one of the most talented teams the state has ever seen," Childs said. "At the beginning of the season, we only had two guys with real varsity experience. We knew [to] keep working hard, and we'd get where we need to be. We figured out who we were."

The change was progressive throughout the season. Avea needed to acclimate to the new state, system and style after moving from Hawaii. Lleyton Parker and Dason Youngblood needed to develop cohesion and balance with interchanging responsibilities. Schyler Shoemaker was new to the starting lineup, and several reserves, albeit talented, were inexperienced at the varsity level.

The beginning of the transformation was illuminated in the first win against the Grizzlies at home; the second win bumped the Miners into the No. 1 ranking in the 5A classification and the third solidified the Miners as the best team in the entire state.

"It's the greatest day of my life," said Youngblood, who scored 16 points, matching Shoemaker's total.

Copper Hills was the instigator in the beginning on Saturday, leading 24-23 at intermission, but following the Bingham manual, the Miners gradually put the Grizzlies to bed.

"They just have these stretches where it's hard to keep them in front of you," said Copper Hills coach Andrew Blanchard. "It puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. They're really well-coached and they're really good athletes, so it makes it difficult."

But the main explosion was sparked by a friendly butt slap.

The Grizzlies had just reclaimed the lead in the third quarter after Preston Sanchez soaked a 3-pointer in Avea's face. The fiery four-year starter, who led Copper Hills with 12 points, playfully tapped Avea's behind after the shot.

Suddenly Avea was the aggressor, using a combination of rebounds and attacks to the basket to ignite a 10-0 run that was punctuated by Schyler Shoemaker's 3-pointer with 2:32 left in the third quarter to give the Miners the 35-27 lead.

"It totally [fired me up]," Avea said. "I remember when he bent over after the game, I gave him a little pat back. It's all love of the game."

Shoemaker's second triple from his trusty nearside corner as the horn sounded in the third essentially secured the program's ninth title in school history.

"It's going to be crazy to go back [to school] and see the banner we put up," Shoemaker said. "It feels amazing."

After cutting down the nets, the Miners huddled together for one final chant before heading for the tunnels as champions with the vision of blue-colored rings.

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Storylines

R Bingham wins its first title since 2006 and the ninth in school history.

• The Miners close the season with 18 consecutive wins — 15 by double figures — with an average margin of victory of 20.7 points.