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SALT LAKE CITY — What began as a three-point lead for Corner Canyon High School (15-10) at halftime quickly exploded to a 65-52 victory for the Chargers over the Timpanogos High School Timberwolves (20-7). Behind a 23-12 scoring burst in the third quarter, the Chargers punched their ticket to the state championship.
Junior forward Hayden Welling led the Chargers with 29 points on a super efficient 10 of 12 from the floor and was unstoppable whenever the ball was in his hands. He added eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks. The charity stripe was very generous to Welling, who went 9 of 11 from the free-throw line.
“I thought we had a huge advantage on the inside with both Hayden and Gabe Toombs,” Corner Canyon head coach Dan Lunt told reporters. “I just don’t think they had anybody that could handle those two. You take one away and the other is open. They executed, give credit to the guys on the team.”
Toombs posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He got in early foul trouble but gave the Chargers a boost after he got going on the court.
The first half of the game was tightly contested as Timpanogos and Corner Canyon went back and forth, with Corner Canyon leading wire to wire. The biggest lead for the Chargers in the first half was only six points.
Despite leading by only three at the half, 23-20, Lunt felt his team came out aggressive from the beginning and never let off the gas.
“I thought we came out physically and took charge right off the bat. I think that set the tempo for the whole game,” Lunt said.
Timpanogos deployed a full-court press coming out of halftime in an effort to slow down Corner Canyon, but the Chargers picked apart the press with surgical precision passes. Open layups on the other end of the court were what put the Timberwolves in a big hole after the third quarter.
Welling told reporters that he and the rest of the Chargers expected to see Timpanogos press them right out of the gate in the second half but thought the team handled itself exceptionally well. The Chargers never seemed out of rhythm and continuously came up with big rebounds to hold the Timberwolves at bay.
“Just work hard, get on the floor, play our game, play how we know how. That’s what we came out to do and we did. We worked as hard as we could, and we all played as a team, and it worked out well,” Welling said.
Colin Christensen led the Timberwolves with 15 points, and Tyler Walker added 14 points.
“I think defense is key,” Welling said about their matchup in the championship. “If we can keep them off the boards, we’ll do well.”
