Two years ago, Tyrell Corbin was in the exact same place, both literally and figuratively.

Corbin's freshman year ended with his West Panthers being blown out by Snow Canyon in the opening round of the state tournament at Weber State's Dee Events Center. The following year, West was cutting down the nets after shocking the Utah basketball world by upsetting Provo to win the 4A state title.

So everything felt sort of familiar for Corbin after Copper Hills ended the Panthers' season last week with a 69-46 dismantling in the quarterfinals. If history repeats itself, can we put West as a team to watch for the 2011 championship?

"We'll use this as motivation," Corbin said. "Hopefully, we can use this to get us started for next season."

There wasn't a sense of finality as West left the locker room following the completion of a 19-4 run during its first season in 5A. Coaches were already kicking around summer league and AAU ball lineups and head coach Bob Lyman only had to say goodbye to two seniors.

"We're ready to start next year right now," Lyman said. "We're still a young team. This loss will leave a taste in our player's mouth. One of the coaches said it best -- you have to experience the lows to appreciate the highs.

"We won 19 games and it was a fun ride," Lyman added. "But there's some work ahead"

West was coming off an emotional win against Viewmont the night before, as was Copper Hills after beating Brighton.

Copper Hills had more energy, and most importantly, had Steve Larson, one of the state's best post players.

Larson dominated the game from the outset, scoring 12 of his game-high 28 in the opening quarter. West couldn't answer, shooting just 29.5 percent from the field while making just one of 20 three-point attempts. West trailed by as many as 35. Ouch.

"The big guy [Larson] was just unstoppable," Lyman said. "If we could have made a few defensive stops early, we might have had some confidence."

Corbin had a respectable night with 14 points, but knows he's the focal point for West's 2011 season.

He will be counted on to score -- he averaged 19.5 points this season -- and "to be the leader."

"I know what's expected," Corbin said. "Build up everyone so we can come out strong."

Strengthening 6-foot-8 center Gatete Djuma will be another offseason project. He's capable of posting 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, but is still learning how to play.

"He's just still really raw... really raw," Lyman said. "Today he was shell-shocked with how good Larson was. I can spend some time with him over the offseason and I expect him to be better."

Lyman will look for players to replace outgoing seniors Jordan Tanner and Misitana Afeaki.

"We need to find two or three replacements," Lyman said. "We have a good nucleus coming back."