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American Fork • The 5A defending champion Copper Hills boys basketball team started fast and led the entire game as the Grizzlies defeated American Fork 53-25 in the first semifinal of the Utah Elite 8 Tournament Friday evening.

The teams scored nearly even in the paint, but Copper Hills had a 20-4 edge in points off of turnovers and that was a big key to the game.

The Cavemen made a lot of transition baskets in their first-round effort, a 71-35 dismantling of Bountiful on Thursday. The Grizzlies effectively took that away and American Fork never found any consistent answers.

Neither team shot particularly well in a ragged first half, but Copper Hills turned it on after the break. The Grizzlies converted 61 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from long range, and were 80 percent at the line in the second half.

Senior forward Stockton Shorts, the only returning starter from last year's title team, notched a double-double for the victors with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Senior guard Rowland Bolman added a game-high 16 points, including four treys, along with three steals and was named player of the game.

Senior guard Callahan Blackham added nine assists and four steals while sophomore forward Trevon Allfrey grabbed nine boards and blocked two shots for Copper Hills.

"American Fork has a lot of young talent," said Grizzlies coach Andrew Blanchard. "The way they looked against Bountiful they scored lots in transition, so we wanted to try to make that more difficult by staying in front of them."

Copper Hills played an up-tempo style in Thursday's 87-73 win over Olympus but showed it could adapt.

"Participating in this tournament has showed us we can play fast and score a lot, but we can also play a slow-down game and still be successful," Blanchard said.

He added that he was impressed that his team was able to hold the Cavemen to single-digit scoring each quarter. "If you can do that against good teams like this one, that's a good sign," he concluded.

The Grizzlies (3-0) will take on Bingham (4-1) in Saturday's Elite 8 championship game, scheduled for 5 p.m. at American Fork. The Miners defeated Davis 67-42 in the second semifinal, led by Dason Youngblood with 24 points.

Other Friday scores: Corner Canyon 68-55 over Lehi; Olympus 72-65 over Bountiful. —

Storylines

R Copper Hills leads from start to finish in the first Utah Elite 8 semifinal against American Fork.

• The Grizzlies make 13 assists on 19 field goals. They have 11 steals in the contest.

• This was the first loss of the season for American Fork (3-1). The Cavemen were sparked by their two promising post players, junior Zach McWhorter and sophomore Isaac Johnson, who combined for 17 points and seven rebounds.