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American Fork players console each other after the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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American Fork players and coaches pose for a photo with the second-place trophy after the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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American Fork senior JR Turley goes up for a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork fans cheer on their team during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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American Fork senior Ashton Wallace has the ball knocked away during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork head coach Ryan Cuff (right) consoles senior Ashton Wallace during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior Blake Rawson goes up for a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior Ashton Wallace goes up for a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork junior Tiger Cuff drives to the basket during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior Blake Rawson looks to make a pass during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior Ashton Wallance goes up for a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior JR Turley goes up for a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork head coach Ryan Cuff talks to an official during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior JR Turley dribbles up the court during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork junior Tiger Cuff drives to the basket during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork senior JR Turley can't hold back the emotion during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork players console each other after the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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American Fork fans cheer on their team during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

OGDEN — Corner Canyon was the favorite in last year’s 6A boys state championship game, but American Fork snuck up as the No. 10 seed to pull off the upset.

The Chargers were having none of that this year.

Jaxson Roberts scored 23 points on 11 of 14 from the field, Max Toombs added 21 points and Brody Kozlowski turned in a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds as No. 1 seed Corner Canyon powered to a 66-51 victory on Saturday at the Dee Events Center.

“Corner Canyon is just a very good basketball team,” AF coach Ryan Cuff said. “We made a few adjustments but they took us out of sync as far as maybe controlling the clock a little bit. We let them get out ahead of us. We wanted to try and dictate the tempo and it kind of backfired on us. We missed some shots and that’s my fault. I’ll take total responsibility for not spending enough time on being able to adjust to what they were doing.”

Just like it did in the semifinals against Lone Peak, Corner Canyon (25-2) grabbed a double-digit lead in the second quarter and held on to that advantage nearly the whole way home to a win.

The first half was a tough one for the Cavemen, which made just 6 of 26 (23%) from the field.The Chargers’ length allowed them to contest every shot and make every attempt a difficult one.

Leading 12-7 after one, Corner Canyon outscored AF 19-10 in the second, getting eight points from Roberts and a pair of 3-pointers from Kozlowski. Toombs converted a late 3-point play and the Chargers led 31-17 at halftime.

American Fork trailed by 19, 37-18, with 6:16 to play in the third quarter. Roberts was electric in the third with eight points and a pair of dunks. As the quarter came to an end, the 6-foot-2 guard flew down the middle for a two-handed jam and the Chargers led 45-30 entering the final frame.

A nice dish from JR Turley to Kean Webb from a dunk helped American Fork cut the deficit to 45-35 early in the fourth quarter. Turley got hot from beyond the arc and a triple from the corner brought the Cavemen back within eight, 49-41, with 4:48 remaining.

But that was as close as American Fork could get. Toombs and Kozlowski hit 3-pointers for Corner Canyon and the lead quickly went back up to 15, 59-44, with 2:34 to play.

The Chargers shot 56% (24 of 43) from the field and had 14 fast-break points to American Fork’s two.

Turley led the Cavemen with 14 points with Blake Rawson and Holden Hucks adding nine each. AF shot just 35% (19 of 54) from the field and finished the season at 19-9.

“We just tried to create a culture with the guys that were part of the program last year were with us this year,” Cuff said. “We had that experience and a tough schedule, one of the toughest in the state. We had eight losses coming into this game and we wouldn’t have been here without each of those losses. We had as much adversity as anybody. They were just better than us, give them credit. We have a chance to get back here with some of our underclassmen that we have. A lot of life lessons in this one.”

This is Corner Canyon’s second state title, along with a 5A championship in 2019. Former Payson coach Dan Lunt has been the head man for both of the Chargers titles.

Box score

American Fork (51)

Cuff 7, Wallace 8, Dunne 2, Turley 14, Rawson 9, Hucks 9, Webb 2. Totals 19 7-10 51.

Corner Canyon (66)

Roberts 24, Feroah 3, Kozlowski 16, Toombs 21, Neibaur 2. Totals 24 12-18 66.

American Fork 7 10 13 21 — 51

Corner Canyon 12 19 14 21 — 66

3-pointers: American Fork 6 (Turley 3, Cuff 2, Hucks); Corner Canyon 6 (Kozlowski 4, Feroah, Toombs).

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