Layton Lancers guard Mekhi Martin (1) drives to the basket against Farmington Phoenix guard Braden Larsen (3) during the 6A high school boys basketball quarter finals at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
Marielle Scott, Deseret News
Here’s a recap of the 6A quarterfinal games at the University of Utah on Monday. This story will be updated as more games go final.
Layton 77, Farmington 61
Top seed Layton’s 6A quarterfinal showdown with Farmington on Monday afternoon had all the makings of a great state tournament game.
Layton won both region games, but both were decided by four and five points. The third meeting was anything but close.
The Lancers buried 10 3-pointers in the first half, racking up to a 19-point lead and then put the game on cruise control from there for the 77-61 victory at the University of Utah.
Layton finished with 13 3s, which isn’t unusual as it averaged 9.9 3s leading into the quarterfinals. During the season it hit double-digit 3s on 12 occasions, including a season-high 17 in an 87-45 win over Taylorsville.
“I really think it was how our guys shared the basketball, and when you share it and play the right way, you hit guys in the hands, guys are open cause you’re making an extra pass, it makes it easier — it definitely makes it easier,” said Layton coach Kelby Miller.
With the win, Layton advances to Wednesday’s semifinals and will take on defending champion Corner Canyon at 7 p.m.
Layton only made 3 of 11 3s in the second half, but by then the damage had been done.
David Katoa led the way for the Lancers with 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while KJ Miller made three 3s and Mekhi Martin, Jonah Fullmer and Cade Tidwell each chipped in two.
“Obviously, we shoot a lot, it’s important to be able to score points,” said Miller. “We were really proud of how our guys came out in the venue for the first time, the moment wasn’t too big for them.”
Martin added 14 points and Fullmer 12. Farmington was led by Paul Beattie with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but he only had one offensive rebound.
Miller believed limiting second-chance opportunities would be key for his team Monday, and his players came through — allowing only five offensive rebounds and two second-chance points.
“Our guys did a great job of limiting second chances, their size were able to kind of negate that a little bit by doing a good job boxing out,” said Miller.
The game was tight in the first quarter with Farmington trailing 19-16, but Layton exploded offensively in the second quarter, making the bulk of its 3-pointers to race out to a 47-28 halftime lead.
Another big advantage for Layton was its bench production. It outscored Farmington 28-4 off the bench; Fullmer scored 12 and Tidwell and Karter Miller added eight each.
“If you can get that off your bench, that’s pretty impressive. The main thing is for those guys to keep their heads in the game, not having hurt feelings about their role and just doing a great job playing that. They’ve done that all year,” said Miller.
Layton improved to 24-1 with its 13th-straight victory.
For Miller and the Lancers to make it 14 straight against defending state champion Corner Canyon it will need similar production.
“We’re going to have to limit their second chances, they’re bigger than us on paper, so we’re going to have to be tough, box out, and as long as we can share the basketball and hit shots we’ll be fine,” said Miller.
Corner Canyon 67, American Fork 58
Brody Kozlowski kicked his game into Klay Thompson mode in Monday morning’s 6A quarterfinals, and American Fork could do nothing to stop him.
The Corner Canyon senior — and USC commit — went off for 39 points at the University of Utah including two dagger 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Chargers pulled away from American Fork for the 67-58 victory.
“Before the game I have the mentality of trying to mimic a player, and that game was like a Klay Thompson, (Devin) Booker type,” Kozlowski said. “I just kept shooting everything and it kept falling.”
Kozlowski scored 39 points, shattering his previous career high of 29 points, on 12-of-16 shooting from the field, 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and 9 of 9 from the line. He made all six of his free throws in the final minute to ice the game, and even scored 14 of his team’s final 16 points.
“I was just trying to finish the game, get the W, contribute to my teammates, play for them,” said Kozlowski, whose previous career high of 29 came on two different occasions.
He made his first three 3-pointers, and four in the first half. But it was his final three that iced the win for the Chargers.
Corner Canyon led by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter, but American Fork chipped away at the lead, including three straight 3s by Diego Mulford, Jared Shepherd and Tiger Cuff. When Shepherd hit a baseline jumper with 2:12 remaining, the Cavemen only trailed 56-53 in a rematch of last year’s 6A state championship won by the Chargers.
Kozlowski made sure the lead never dipped any further as he buried a fadeaway 3-pointer with 59 seconds left to push the lead back to six. From there, Corner Canyon’s final eight points all came at line.
“He’s a special player. He’s a humble kid and he comes to work and he does what’s asked for him,” said Lunt. “The thing about Brody is not only is he a great basketball player, but he has his head on straight and he’s just going to come and be who he is under any circumstances and that’s what makes him so good.”
Lunt credited American Fork for making some big shots in the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game late. Shepherd finished with 28 points to lead the Cavemen, who led 27-26 at the half and shot 48% from the field.
Corner Canyon’s offensive efficiency was too good though as it shot 51%, including 63 in the second half. Brylon Valdes added 11 points, including a stretch he scored seven straight points on a circus reverse lay-up, a lay-up at the third quarter buzzer and then a three-point play to start the fourth quarter. His team’s lead swelled from 38-36 to 45-36 during that two-minute stretch.
“That one at the buzzer is crucial, cause at that same time they were making somewhat of a run and we got it back to six going into the fourth,” said Lunt.
Friday’s win was Corner Canyon’s 14th straight as it advances to Wednesday’s semifinals at 7 p.m. against the No. 1 seed Layton. It is the program’s fourth straight semifinal appearance.
“It’s just the culture of the program. The people before it laid it, and it’s just an expectation. We don’t take it for granted. We know what it takes. It’s not during the season, this happened last spring, summer and fall. That’s where the culture is built, that’s where the attitude comes from, that’s the where the expectation comes from with the time they put in,” said Lunt.
For Kozlowski, he’s soaking up every last minute of his high school career, especially after a head-on-head car accident five games before the season fractured his collar bone and prevented him from playing in the first 15 games.
In his 10 games back, he’s averaged 21.3 points and 8.9 rebounds, including tying his career high with 29 points against Copper Hills in his first game and then obliterating it in Monday’s quarterfinals.