SALT LAKE CITY — Corner Canyon boys basketball coach Dan Lunt probably said it best.

“Kozlowski was a beast.”

He was right: 6-foot-8 USC signee Brody Kozlowski put up beastly numbers in Monday’s 6A boys semifinal showdown with American Fork, posting 39 points and nine rebounds in a 67-58 victory at the Huntsman Center.

Kozlowski’s 39 points (a career high) came on 12 of 16 from the field, including 6 of 9 from the 3-point line and 9 of 9 on foul shots. He scored 13 points on 5 of 5 shooting in the first quarter and brought the Chargers home in the fourth, scoring 14 of his team’s final 16 points.

“He was a man among boys and just made some plays at the end when we needed them,” Lunt said. “As good a basketball player as he is, he’s a even better kid. He’s a 4.0 student and he understands what needs to be done. He’s highly motivated with everything he does in life.”

Senior Jared Shepherd had a terrific game for the No. 5 seed Cavemen (16-8), scoring 28 points on 9 of 12 from the field, including 6 of 9 from the 3-point line. Senior Blake Rawson contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his final high school game and senior Tiger Cuff had nine points and five assists.

“We were right where we wanted to be,” AF coach Ryan Cuff said. “We missed a little shot that would have cut it to one but I give them (Corner Canyon) a ton of credit. Dan does an excellent job with his stuff and he’s got some really good players. We had to play a really good game to compete. I thought we did at times but at the end, they were the better team.”

The two programs have battled in big games the past three seasons. American Fork upset Corner Canyon for the 2022 6A title and the Chargers returned the favor in last year’s final. The Cavemen claimed a 67-65 victory on Dec. 1 but Kozlowski, recovering from a car accident that broke his collarbone, didn’t play in that game.

He made his presence known early on Monday with his big first quarter.

“Yeah, that got me going,” Kozlowski said. “I love the energy in a big arena. I feel like I played well in big arenas. That gets my teammates going, too. We have a special chemistry on this team.”

Corner Canyon led by as many as seven points (17-10) and claimed a 19-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

American Fork found a good offensive groove and outscored the Chargers 14-7 in the second period, getting eight points from Shepherd. His long 3-pointer with 31 seconds to play gave the Cavemen a 27-26 halftime lead.

The Chargers took a 42-36 lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as nine points, 49-40, on a basket by Noah Bendinger with 6:20 to play. American Fork and pulled within three, 54-51, on five points from Tiger Cuff with 4:12 remaining. The Cavemen had a couple of offensive possessions to get closer but couldn’t convert in the key and Kozlowski finished off the win at the free throw line.

“I’m so proud of my team and I love them,” Coach Cuff said. “The way you win every day is through what we teach as far as principles and core values of what we’re made of. Nobody can take that away from us. That’s just the gentlemen that these kids are every day. Just because we didn’t win doesn’t define us at all.”

Corner Canyon (18-7), which has won 15 straight games, faces No. 1 seed Layton in Wednesday’s semifinal round. The Lancers blew past No. 9 Farmington 77-61 on Monday behind University of Utah signee David Katoa, who scored 19 points.