Buffs drain nine 3-pointers to earn first Region 7 victory in two years

Even with below-freezing Tooele temperatures outside it was raining 3-pointers inside the gym, 19 to be exact. Tooele hit nine of their own from downtown to earn their first Region 7 victory in two years, 52-50 over Payson, and it took overtime to get the win.

Competing in their second overtime game in as many weeks, Tooele this time came out on the winning end behind 14 points from Tanner Stuart. The balanced scoring attack was rounded by Jake Dalton with 12 and eight apiece from Jordan Clemente and Taylor Hunt.

The first quarter didn’t exactly turn out like the Buffs wanted. Four free throws from Stuart kept Tooele in the game, trailing only 5-4 with 4:23 left in the first. From there Payson scorched the nets for a 9-2 run sparked by a post move from Jacob Tipton. A 3-pointer from B. J. Ford gave the Lions a 14-6 lead to end the first quarter.

The second quarter is where it really started raining 3-pointers, especially for Tooele. The Buffaloes hit six 3-pointers in the quarter accounting for 18 of their 21 points in the period.

The 3-pointers were spread around with Dalton hitting two and Stuart, Boone Baird and Vaughn Turner each hitting one. But the biggest long-range bomb came from Hunt, whose shot behind the arc gave Tooele their first lead at 24-23 with 2:07 remaining in the half. Tooele managed to tack on to that lead to head to the locker room with a 27-23 halftime edge.

The second half was a tale of two different quarters for Tooele and Payson. In the third the Lions came out on fire with three 3-pointers each in the second half from Ford and Braden Wright. Payson outscored Tooele 16-6 in the third to take a 39-33 lead into the final quarter.

However, Tooele didn’t let the game slip away in the fourth. Clemente stepped up big in the second half with eight points while Dalton, Stuart and Hunt each scored five in the half to help bring the game within grasp.

Tooele managed to erase Payson’s six-point lead and send the game into overtime where the Buffaloes outlasted the visiting Lions to come away with the much-needed victory.

Tooele will continue region play today against Orem at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com