Prior to the season, Tooele basketball coach Ray Brazier dubbed senior guard Tanner Stuart as the team’s “play-maker.” For the second consecutive game, that moniker held true in Friday’s 47-45 victory over Ogden.

Against the Tigers in a home game at Tooele, Stuart drove the middle of the lane and pulled up to hit a game-winning 8-footer with 3 seconds on the clock.

On Wednesday, Stuart sank the winning shot in the final seconds in a 59-56 victory over East.

“The plan was to have Tanner push through and score a lay-up. Tanner made an good read, made an inside move and pulled up to hit the shot,” Brazier said.

Stuart could not have made that final heroic play for a second straight game without the help of his teammates, especially Brock Haskell.

Haskell hit some crucial free throws late in the game to keep it close along with a steal and lay-up to give his team the lead in the final minute. Ogden scored after the Haskell lay-up to tie it at 45-45. Tooele called time-out with 30 seconds left, and then Stuart made the final shot of the game.

“Brock Haskell had his best game so far and we expect him to have more games like that,” Brazier said. “He plays with a lot of heart out there. He had a bunch of steals and led us in rebounds and points.”

Haskell scored 12 points for the night while Jordan Clemente added 8, Stuart 8, Taylor Hunt 6, Matt Trussell 5, Jake Dalton 3 and Vaughn Turner 2.

The Buffaloes went up by 9 points early in the second quarter and then their shooting percentage dropped off and Ogden was able to rally to tie the game at 23-23 at intermission.

“We were getting the shots we wanted, but weren’t making the shots,” Brazier said.

The cold shooting continued in the third quarter and Ogden surged ahead to lead by 3 points after three quarters. The coach said the third-quarter dry spell was a bit different than the first-half dry spell.

“In the third we just weren’t taking very good shots,” he said.

The game was tight in the final quarter, until Haskell and Stuart made the plays to help Tooele post its third victory in four games this season.

Tooele called time-out with 30 seconds left in the game to draw up a play.

“As coaches we have to put kids in a position to win, and then it’s up to the kids to make it happen,” Brazier said.

Tooele will play at Woods Cross on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the 2-2 Wildcats. Woods Cross features the leading scorer in 4A in Tyler Stahle who averages 23.2 points per game. The Wildcats have played four extremely close contests with wins against 5A foes Hillcrest and Viewmont and two two-point losses to West and Layton.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com