It has been a streaky young season for the Tooele boys basketball team so far. After losing the first two games, the Buffaloes have since bounced back with two straight victories and were looking for their third straight win over visiting Snow Canyon.

Trailing 14-12 after the first half, Tooele showed determination in the second half. Jacob Holt hit clutch shots for the Buffaloes en route to his game-high 18 points in leading Tooele to a 41-35 victory Thursday night.

The 18 points from Holt was followed by nine points coming from Wade Memmott coming from three 3-pointers and also chipped in seven rebounds on the night. Clutch plays near the end of the game were key for Tooele as Snow Canyon tied the game at 35-35 with 1:38 in the game but the Buffaloes finished by scoring the final six points of the game.

“How a team plays in the fourth quarter says something about them,” said Tooele basketball coach Ray Brazier. “The less coaching I have to do in the fourth the better because the players know what they are doing out on the court.”

Both offenses sputtered coming out of the gate in the first quarter. Snow Canyon grabbed an early 6-2 lead after a put back by Tyler Miller but a 3-pointer by Memmott helped the momentum sway in Tooele’s favor. In fact, the Buffaloes scored the final six points of the first quarter to hold an 8-6 lead after one.

Defenses continued to play a big role in the second quarter. Even with the Tooele defense improving each game it was Snow Canyon hitting a couple outside shots. Joseph Graham and Kaleb Hurst each hit a 3-pointer in the second to give the Warriors a 14-12 lead at halftime.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Memmott and Holt in the third quarter helped give Tooele an 18-16 lead. Snow Canyon eventually came back to tie the game at 20-20 but another 3 by Holt helped give the Buffaloes a 24-22 lead heading into the final quarter. A common theme for the Tooele team is how they finished each quarter, which helped them when the game came to crunch time.

Again it was the long-distance shooting of Memmott and Holt which gave Tooele a 35-29 lead with only 3:24 left in the game. Snow Canyon did battle back in the following minutes with six straight points, which was capped by a 3-pointer by Jacob Frei to tie the game at 35-35.

After a timeout by coach Brazier, Spencer Bunn found himself open under the basket for a layup and foul to convert the 3-point play the old fashioned way. Graham had a look at 3 for Snow Canyon to tie the game but the shot clanked off the rim and Holt sealed the game by hitting 3-of-4 free throws to clinch the six-point victory.

After the game, coach Brazier pointed out the play of his bench. “I can’t say enough about how our bench performed and how they showed confidence on the court,” Brazier said. “All the players are sticking to their roles.”

Tooele will look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Springville to face the Red Devils Friday at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com