Stansbury Stallions complete season sweep of rival Tooele Buffaloes

Stone Tia only scored eight points for the Stansbury Stallions Friday night – but he scored them when it mattered most during a narrow, 43-40 Stansbury victory over their cross-town rivals, the Tooele Buffaloes.

The Stallions trailed the Buffs 39-40 with only 30 seconds left in the game when Tia hit a jumper to give the Stallions the lead.

Tia then sank two free throws on the next possession to seal the game for the Stallions.

Once again the Stallions had a balanced scoring attack with no players in double figures and five people with at least six points.

The Stallions also played tough defense all night — especially when it counted. Tooele’s Tyler Woodruff led all scorers with 14 points, and Jack Memmott scored 10 for the Buffaloes.

The Stallions didn’t have an answer for Woodruff early in the game. The 6-foot-4 senior was having his way inside, and seemed to have everything going until the fourth quarter.

Woodruff couldn’t find a rhythm in the final period, partially due to defensive adjustments by the Stallions. Multiple defenders swarmed the ball on almost every possession.

“We were trapping the guard and giving Tyler way too much cushion on the screen and roll,” said Stansbury head coach Ryan Harris. “Once our guys stuck with Tyler when he was rolling to the basket, we forced other people to beat us and that, I think, is what ultimately won us the game.”

With this win, the Stallions move to 8-9 on the season and 4-4 in region play.

The Buffs move to 5-13 overall and 2-7 in Region 11. Both teams are back in action on Feb. 1, when the Stallions will take on the Ogden Tigers, and Tooele will take on Morgan.

CJ Pronk is a junior at Stansbury High School.