Junior Buffaloes guard Dillon Polson has his shot blocked by a Grantsville defender during Tooele's 66-74 loss on Dec. 7 at home.
Cowboys players Cache Cooper and Ethan Powell maintain control of the basketball during a struggle with Buffaloes Guard.
Cowboys guard Blake Bunderson drives to the basket during Grantsville's basketball game against Tooele High.
Senior Gabe Mouritsen dribbles past Buffaloes opponent during Grantsville's last game against Tooele.
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Loading...Less than a month into the start of the season, the Tooele Buffaloes boys basketball team finds itself with an 0-6 record after their games Wednesday night against Grantsville and Friday against Bonneville.
Hosting the undefeated Cowboys, the Buffaloes looked to get into the win column last night and played a tightly contested game for the majority of the night.
During a back-and-forth first quarter, Tooele kept up with Grantsville and finished the period trailing 19-20. The second quarter went just as well, with both teams scoring 17 points to give the Cowboys a narrow 37-36 lead heading into the half.
Despite keeping within striking distance over the next two quarters, Grantsville’s consistent offense kept the Buffaloes from coming back and the Cowboys came away with a 74-66 victory.
With the loss, Tooele fell to 0-5 and with their victory the Cowboys improved to 5-0.
Grantsville’s Brigham Mulford led the team in scoring, recording 25 points — with 10 of them coming off free throws. Senior Gabe Mouritsen was right behind him, posting 24 points after going 10-for-11 in shooting.
For the Buffaloes, junior Dillon Polson led the way with 21 points, with senior Ethan Simmons putting up 20 points with a 70% shooting success rate.
Following the win over Tooele, Grantsville head coach Nate Austin gave credit to Tooele for keeping his team on its heels.
“They’re coming together… and so, it was a team we knew wasn’t going to quit,” Austin said. “(And) Being a rivalry game, we knew it was going to be a battle to the end.”
For the Cowboys, Austin attributed his team’s overall effort and ability to adjust their game to match Tooele’s.
I’m really proud of my guys for sticking with (the game plan),” Austin said. “I feel like every time Tooele had a run, we responded with one of our own.”
Tooele was unable to reverse its fortune during its next game against the Bonneville Lakers, with their loss bringing the team to an 0-6 record. A second quarter breakdown saw only three points registered by the Buffaloes, as the visiting Lakers wound up winning 81-57.
Grantsville continued their winning ways during its last Friday, beating the North Sanpete Hawks 59-42. After a 27-26 lead in the first two quarters, a second half outpouring of offense enabled the Cowboys to outscore the Hawks 32-16 in the final two frames and come away with the 17-point victory.
Both teams have one final game before they go to their respective tournaments during the Christmas break. Grantsville hosts Real Salt Lake this week, with Tooele playing West Jordan on the road on Dec. 16.
