Draper • Corner Canyon delivered its most impressive performance of the young season Saturday to capture the school’s inaugural Tournament of Champions tournament.
The Chargers had four players score in double figures for the second consecutive game, but they also overcame foul trouble and an off game from their top scorer in a 69-55 victory against Bountiful.
Tournament MVP Gabe Toombs and Ammon Jensen each scored 16 points for Corner Canyon (3-0), which lost starters John Mitchell and Josh Christensen to early foul trouble, and got a scoreless performance from center Hayden Welling.
“I just play hard, no matter what,” said Toombs, a junior, who had nine points off the bench in the second quarter. “But if we have a couple of guys in foul trouble that means I have to step up even more.”
Toombs’ scoring proved much-needed. The 6-foot-8 Welling, who averaged 13.5 points in the Chargers’ first two wins of the tournament, couldn’t find his touch in the paint against the Braves (2-2).
“We couldn’t finish when we got to the rim,” Corner Canyon coach Dan Lunt said. “We’ve got to learn to focus. Layups, at this level, you’ve got to make them. Bottom line, we’ve got to be ready to play and when we get layups, we’ve got to finish.”
The Chargers improved to 16-0 under Lunt when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points. It was defense that swung Saturday’s game. For most of three quarters, the teams played within no more than four points of each other.
But Corner Canyon forced four turnovers in the final period, and Jensen scored six points to push the lead to double figures.
Bountiful guard Brig Willard, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored a game-high 17 points, but limped off the court in the fourth quarter with an apparent left hip injury. He did not return and appeared to be in discomfort after the game.
Shane Hertgen scored 14 points and Blake Emery added 10 for the Chargers, who are looking to build on last year’s state semifinal run. Emery and Jensen, both senior guards, adeptly handled Bountiful’s full-court pressure and Emery had two assists on nifty passes in the fourth quarter as Corner Canyon extended the lead.
“We were unselfish in the fourth quarter and we shared the ball really well,” Toombs said. “We got easy layups.”
Storylines<br>• Tournament MVP Gabe Toombs and senior guard Ammon Jensen each score 16 points to lead the host Chargers to the inaugural Tournament of Champions title.<br>• Bountiful guard Brig Willard scores a game-high 17 points, but leaves with an injury in the fourth quarter.<br>• Corner Canyon goes on a 15-3 run over the first 5:41 of the fourth quarter to blow open a tight game and stay undefeated.
