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Richfield • It seems almost a requirement for Utah high school student body sections to start the ubiquitous "We believe that we can win" cheer sometime during a game.

But when the supporters of Diamond Ranch Academy broke out the chant, after senior Tyus Milhollin banked in his second 3-pointer, it certainly seemed more than apropos.

And win, the Diamondbacks did.

Diamond Ranch beat defending champ Rich 62-57 to claim the Class 1A boys' basketball crown. Milhollin scored 21 points and Bowen Sykes added 16 as the D-Backs clawed back from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter.

Milhollin's first banked trey came with 1:35 left in the third to trim the deficit to one. His second, even more improbable than the first, gave Diamond Ranch a 47-44 lead with 5:30 remaining in the fourth.

"The first one falls, you think, 'Oh, that's luck'," Milhollin said. "The second one, it's like God's sending a message that this is our game."

After cruising through the semifinals with a 30-point win Friday at the Sevier Valley Events Center, Diamond Ranch (21-5) seemed in some dire straits when Sykes and fellow starter Nick Johnson went to the bench in the third period after drawing their fourth fouls of the game.

And Rich (19-6), which eked out an overtime victory in the semis over Panguitch, seemed to be displaying the seasoning that earned the Rebels the 1A title the year before.

Led by Mitch Jarman's 22 points and 16 from Payson Willis, Rich took a 33-26 lead on a putback shot by Ryker Rex with 3:28 in the third. Johnson had already exited a minute earlier with his fourth, then Bowen took a seat with 2:22 in the same stanza.

"I got worried, I won't lie," Diamond Ranch coach Trevor Jenson said. "Rich is a good team, they execute their offense really well. Fortunately, a couple of their shots didn't fall and we were able to rebound, which was one of our big struggles in the first half."

Jenson noted that five of his players were also on the state-winning football team in the fall. Postgame, Jenson also spoke about the special position the Hurricane-based academy takes in giving troubled teens a chance to get a high school education.

"We try to provide a culture and a structured environment where these kids can thrive," Jenson said. "We don't allow our kids to swear, we don't allow our kids to have inappropriate conversations. It really gets them out of the norm, how the world is today."

Unlike most other state tournaments, the final day of the 1A draw was a full day of basketball. Panguitch beat Parowan in the third-place game, while St. Joseph topped Piute for fifth place.

"They made some shots. They started pounding the ball inside on us and that hurt us a little bit," said Rich coach Ashley Brown, whose team finished 19-6 overall. "You know, they just made plays down the stretch and that was the difference in the game." —

Storylines

R Diamond Ranch earns its first basketball championship to go along with a football title it won in the fall.

• Tyus Milhollin, who banks in a pair of threes in the second half, goes 13 for 15 at the foul line and finishes with 21 points for the victorious Diamondbacks.

• Mitch Jarman scores 22 points for Rich, which was trying to win its second straight 1A crown, while Payson Willis adds 16.