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OGDEN — It was a close first quarter between Corner Canyon and American Fork in the 6A boys state championship game on Saturday, but it was all Chargers the rest of the way.
The Chargers went on to defeat the Cavemen 66-51 at the Dee Events Center to earn the championship win.
The No. 1 ranked Chargers even looked like the best team for most of the night against the fourth-ranked Cavemen, who made it a close, back-and-forth game in the first quarter as the two teams traded baskets. But Corner Canyon broke away in the second quarter and never looked back.
Corner Canyon was led by the three-headed monster of senior guards Max Toombs and Jaxson Roberts, and junior forward Brody Kozlowski, who accounted for 61 of the team's 66 points on Saturday.
Roberts led the team with 24 points on an efficient 11-of-14 shooting night, which included multiple fast-break layups and even a couple of dunks. Toombs added 21 points, which included going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, and eight rebounds.
Kozlowski, a three-star recruit and the second-highest ranked recruit in Utah according to 247Sports, recorded a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 junior also led his team in 3-point shooting by knocking down four of his nine attempts from deep.
"I feel like I played pretty well on the boards — did the dirty work," Kozlowski said. "I thought I could have shot it a little better, but overall we got the W and that's what it's for."
American Fork looked to the inside game for its chance to win, and found some of it early on in the game, but the Cavemen weren't able to convert in the lane. Multiple American Fork players were able to make the moves necessary to get past the Corner Canyon defense and get inside the paint, but they left a lot of points on the board with empty layup attempts.
As the game wore on, and the Chargers continued to increase their lead — at one point in the third quarter Corner Canyon led by 19 points — the Cavemen had to resort to an outside-heavy game, where they didn't have much success, either.
"We know they were going to try and slow the ball down," Corner Canyon head coach Dan Lunt said. "The grind does an unbelievable job because we get the ball up and down the floor, and it was a battle of wills. I think we got some transition buckets early that made them have to play our tempo."
At the start of the second half, American Fork trailed 31-17 but opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to get the lead under 10 points for the first time since the first quarter. But it didn't take long before the up-tempo Corner Canyon offense pushed the lead to double digits again where it stayed for the remainder of the game.
After falling short in the championship game last season, the Chargers were able to get over the hump this year and claim a state title.
"We're all friends off the court," Toombs said. "It feels better to play with them on the court and just win with my friends — my best friends and family."
