SALT LAKE CITY — The drive from the Jon M. Huntsman Center to Westlake High can be navigated in 49 minutes without traffic — a 37-mile stretch across I-215, south on I-15, and further west on Pioneer Crossing to Saratoga Springs.
But for 17 years, that drive never included a state championship trophy in boys' basketball seat belted into the front of the bus.
Until Friday night.
Graydin Anderson poured in 18 of his 22 points in the second half, and Westlake won its first sanctioned team title in a boys sport with a 71-55 win over Bingham in the 5A championship at the University of Utah.
Brody Thompson had a game-high 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Thunder (24-3); and Malik Sika added 7 points, 12 rebounds and three assists.
"This means everything," Thompson said. "We've been talking about it all year. Our coaches trusted us all year, and we put it in our heads that we were going to win — and they trusted us to go out and do it.
"It means everything."
Friday's win wasn't an upset by the seed line, as the top-seeded Thunder pulled away from the third-seeded Miners less than 24 hours after Bingham's stunning overtime victory over American Fork.
But for the history of the 6A school that opened its door on the western shore of Utah Lake in 2009, the Thunder's athletic accolades had consisted of three girls wrestling state titles, two in competitive cheer, and an unsanctioned (and often argued) "Graduation Cup" championship in boys' soccer after the Utah High School Activities Association canceled the spring season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Westlake didn't advance to the championship game of the boys' basketball tournament until 2021.
No disputing this one, though. After so many drives in stunned silence and disbelief, Westlake's championship will be riding shotgun on the team bus.
"We're gonna be going crazy," Anderson said.
The three-year starter had just 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half, but came alive when it mattered most. So did the Thunder's defense, which held Bingham star Luke West to 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting, including 0-for-6 from deep.
Instead, it was Parker Snedaker who led Bingham (18-10) with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists — and Anderson who stole the second-half show in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Huntsman Center's lower bowl.
"I just thought, I've got 16 minutes left in my whole career. I'm never going to get these minutes back," Anderson said. "Might as well make the most of it."
That he did.
"He's grown up dreaming of this," said Westlake coach Nate Carling, whose 24 wins are the most in his 12 seasons at Westlake. "In his mind, I think he's been here a lot.
"When you play that through your mind for so many years, the moment wasn't too big for him."
Thomson had 12 points before the break on 4-of-4 shooting, and the Thunder used a 21-point second quarter to turn a 13-10 deficit into a 31-28 edge at halftime, overcoming the Miners' seven offensive rebounds for 12 second-chance points.
Westlake began to pull away in the third, outscoring Bingham 20-11 capped by Anderson's 3-pointer to beat the buzzer and put the Thunder on top, 51-39.
"This is something I've been dreaming of my whole life," said Anderson, who had two pivotal treys in the second half. "As a kid, I just dreamed of hitting those shots. I'll remember that for the rest of my life."
Bingham rallied down the stretch, cutting the lead as close as 5 in large part by the 11 free throws after the break.
But Westlake responded with a 10-0 run, and put the game away for good with 17 free throws to clinch a title for themselves and the community they've represented for years.
"This gives me a lot of hope for high school sports," Carling said. "There's a lot of stuff that goes on that I don't love. But I'm really proud that we did it the right way. We did it with kids that love each other, a community that loves them; it's pretty special."
Other boys' basketball state championships:
