After three quarters of excellent play, the Tooele boys basketball team could not hit their shots in the fourth quarter while Payson was able to get the ball inside to Seth Lovell who scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the final quarter to help the visitors defeat the Buffs 61-48 on Friday.

Tooele grabbed a 10-point lead at 42-32 with 55 seconds remaining in the third quarter. But during a nine-minute span to end the game, Payson outscored Tooele 29-6 to come from behind and claim the victory.

"We still had open shots in the fourth quarter but couldn't hit them. Our players followed the game plan to perfection. Payson executed down the stretch and Lovell stepped it up," said Tooele coach Ray Brazier.

"We played well offensively and went to the line more than our opponents which hasn't been the case this year. We've been emphasizing that in practice -- to get some free throws."

Brazier said his team did not letdown in any way during the fourth quarter when the lead slipped away.

"We haven't been in that position late in the game so it was a tough loss for us when we were starting to taste victory. Holding on to the lead will come with experience," the coach said.

Tooele sagged back in a two-three zone and the plan seemed to work as Payson could not hit outside shots and the Buffs made several steals when the Lions tried to pass inside to their big men.

The Buffs turned it on in the second quarter to expand a one-point lead to 28-21 at intermission.

Matt Wihongi drilled a three-point shot from the corner two minutes into the third quarter and Tooele led 17-12. Tanner Stuart made a nifty move inside to score and was fouled. He hit the free toss to put the Buffs up 24-18. As the seconds wound down in the first half, Nathan Hyde buried a 17-footer to give the Buffs a 28-21 lead at intermission.

Up 36-30 midway through the third quarter, Derrick Anderson connected on a three-pointer to give the Buffs a nine-point advantage at 39-30. Chase Banks hit a fall-away shot and added a free throw to give Tooele's its largest lead of the game with only a minute left in the quarter.

After trailing the entire game, Payson's Tage Wilcock drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Lions up 45-43 with 4:35 left in the game. Payson contined to pound it inside the rest of the night and hit critical foul shots to preserver the victory.

Tooele plays its final game of the season Wednesday at Mountain View.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com