For several years, Bingham’s boys basketball team worked its way up to this moment. It all started four years ago with voluntary early morning shootarounds in The Pit’s auxiliary gym that, by the end of Luke West’s freshman season, grew in popularity. 

On Feb. 27, the Miners achieved a goal they set back when West and other kids were just freshmen when Bingham reached this year’s 6A state championship game. 

“It was a great season and the boys worked very hard to get to where they did,” Bingham head basketball coach Kyle Straatman said after the Miners fell 71-55 to Westlake in the title decider. “It was a very fun group and they enjoyed every minute of the season and especially the last week. We had multiple kids step up and excel in their roles which as a coach is always fun to see.” 

Bingham (19-8) went into the state tournament as the 3-seed and after a first-round bye, waxed rival Riverton 72-52 in the second round behind West’s 16 points and 13 apiece from fellow seniors Parker Snedaker and Will Cain. In the 6A quarters, the Miners drew another crosstown rival in Mountain Ridge. The Sentinels gave Bingham a battle, and yet the Miners held on for a 69-67 victory, paced by a 42-point night from West. 

In the state semifinal, Bingham took on second-seeded American Fork and needed overtime to outlast the Cavemen in a 69-65 classic behind 32 from West, 15 from Snedaker and 7 and 6 apiece from junior Logan Goncalves and senior Denzel Peoples. 

That brought Bingham to the state championship game against No. 1 Westlake. An opponent that had only lost three times the whole season. And yet, the Miners Brotherhood had Westlake on the ropes for a quarter, taking a 13-10 lead. From that point on though, Westlake took over and distanced themselves from the Miners in the second half, handing Bingham that 71-55 loss. 

For Straatman, he let the boys soak in what they’d done at state for a bit, but they regrouped and put what they had just done in perspective after arguably playing the toughest preseason schedule in America, winning a share of the Region 2 title and coming within 20 minutes of a state championship. 

“Of course we wanted to win the last game but after the initial hurt was gone the boys went back to enjoying the moment before we were even back to Bingham Friday night,” Straatman said. 

All tournament long, the Miners spent long nights battling factors that were out of their control, such as late start times for games that affected their preparation, according to Bingham’s coach. But, battling adversity in many forms is nothing new to these Miners. 

Last year, it seemed like the world conspired against the Bingham High basketball team at key points. Even so, the Miners boys finished out the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and won it all, despite watching their star player West go down to injury. They didn’t get West back until the state tournament some 45 days later, and even then he was hardly at full strength, as Bingham got booted in the state quarterfinals.  

This year, Bingham had West back—and it showed. Along with Snedaker, the duo was a one-two punch that averaged 21 and 18 points, respectively, and got significant scoring contributions from another six Miners that, aside from their two leading scorers, still averaged between 3 and 6 points per game, 1 and 4 assists and 1 and 6 rebounds. 

If you’re a coach, it would be awfully hard not to be awfully cognizant of a team this unselfish. 

“I was so proud of the way that the boys played all week and the fight that they showed from start to finish. I was also proud of the way they handled the loss with class and maturity,” Straatman said. “The players earned all of the kind words that they have received from classmates, teachers and other people in our community.” 

In sum though, it all came together courtesy of a group of kids—most of whom got their starts as Miner freshman. In all, there were five of them, kids like West and Snedaker and glue guys like Peoples, Lucas Neidig and Cain. All kids who took different routes to get there—but got there together, according to their coach. 

“The seniors did so much for our program. They truly embodied what it means to be a part of the Bingham Brotherhood the way they treated all of their teammates all the way down to the freshman team. They included everyone and brought them along with them. They also showed the correct way to play. 

“They had a tremendous balance of hard work and passion mixed with playing together and having fun. They brought a level of toughness that was needed to succeed at our level. Their work ethic was also something that will be missed and we hope our younger guys learn from them in this regard as well as many others.”