By Steve Pimper
MaxPreps.com
Hillcrest's Ryan Brimley was in the zone.
That may be an understatement as the talented guard for the second-ranked Hillcrest Huskies drilled 10 three-pointers and scored a career high 40 points against the Bingham Miners Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the fourth-ranked Miners rallied in the final quarter to treat the home crowd to a 71-60 win over the Huskies and spoil Brimley's superstar performance.
Bingham coach Mark Dubach tried everything in his defensive playbook to try to stop the sharp-shooting Brimley but nothing worked in slowing down the Hillcrest senior. Brimley's 10 made baskets from beyond the arc rank as third best in Utah prep basketball history.
While Brimley led the one-man scoring barrage for Hillcrest, Bingham countered with a 10-player rotation that was led by David Pugmire's 18 points, Tyler Strong netting 13, and Brad Mears adding 12.
Dubach said of Brimley's effort, "He just got tired, otherwise he'd have scored 60."
Elsewhere around the Beehive State, the last undefeated team in 4A also lost for the first time as Region VI opened league play with the Cottonwood Colts knocking off West, 58-49. It was the first loss for the second-ranked Panthers, who fell for the first time in eight games.
The top-ranked team in 5A, Lone Peak continued to roll as super sophomore Tyler Haws handed out three assists and stuffed home 23 points in the Knights 79-36 route of Logan. Braken Funk had a game-high 11 rebounds for the still undefeated Knights.
In another game in central Utah, a slowdown effort by visiting Grantsville still couldn't stop the Delta High Jackrabbits from posting their 11th win without a loss by a 35-19 score. Jordan Johnson led the Rabbitts with 14 points.