Hosting a team that beat Grantsville boys basketball by 50 points earlier in the year seemed like a daunting task for the Cowboys Wednesday night.

This time, on their home floor and on senior night, Grantsville put up more of a fight against Bear River, but the end result was the same with the Bears earning the 74-48 victory.

Grantsville was led by Reggie Roberts who scored nine points followed by Ben Tripp and Alex Childs, both players finished with eight. Bear River was paced by Matt Weyland, who had a game-high 20 points.

Bear River jumped out early on the Cowboys. Weyland and his 11 first quarter points helped lead the Bears to a quick 18-3 lead to start the game. Grantsville had their opportunities early but a handful of missed layups and turnovers helped dig GHS into an early hole.

“We had a lot of close opportunities at baskets,” said Grantsville head coach Shane Heath. “We can’t win if we don’t make layups.”

Grantsville had only one field goal in the first quarter, a 3-pointer from Damon Deavila. The Cowboys hit some free throws in the final 49.2 seconds but Bear River had an 18-7 lead after the first.

Coming out more aggressive in the second quarter, Grantsville looked to apply pressure on the Bear’s defense. Roberts hit back-to-back layups with 5:06 remaining in the second that brought the game within 21-12. However Bear River also came out strong, this time with the help of Isaac Ericksen’s six points.

“I think we competed a lot better tonight than the first time we played them,” Heath said.

Tripp came off the bench for Grantsville in the second quarter and knocked in four points but the Cowboys still found themselves trailing 36-20 at the half.

Childs came out in the second half being aggressive with the ball. His five points in the quarter helped keep Bear River within striking distance. The Cowboys even ended the third quarter on an 8-2 run that brought the game within 52-34 with a 3-pointer from Childs capping off the scoring.

Trailing by 18 points, Grantsville had a slim chance of coming back and pulling a come-from-behind victory but Tyson Taylor came in the game for the Bears to make sure that didn’t happen. Taylor checked into the game and promptly nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give Bear River a 58-34 lead with just 6:34 left to play.

From there Austin Cunliffe came on in the fourth to get the game closer with his five fourth-quarter points but Bear River held on for the victory.

Grantsville will wrap up region play Friday in Morgan at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com