Offense will help a basketball team put up points on the scoreboard but a stiff defense will help win a game. It was Grantsville’s defense that came through for them in the fourth quarter against Ben Lomond Wednesday night.

With the Cowboys only making one shot from the floor, Grantsville relied on defense and free throws in the final minutes to seal a 45-36 victory on the night that Grantsville High School named their gym after Robert W. “Ace” Williams.

“We have been stressing defense all year,” said Grantsville coach Shane Heath. “We have been holding teams to low point totals all season and not leaving many open shots.”

Austin Cunliffe led the Cowboys with 12 points while Dalen Erickson also reached double figures with 10 points. Grantsville did a much better job at the foul line, making 17-of-20 from the line and also won the rebounding battle 25-19.

Ben Lomond came out scoring the first four points of the game but the momentum shifted quickly after a fast-break slam dunk by Josh Harrison started a 7-0 run that also included four points from Eli Hamm for a 7-4 lead.

The Scots answered right back as a 3-pointer by Eddy Gongora gave Ben Lomond a 9-7 lead but Erickson fired back by sinking a 3-pointer of his own at the first quarter buzzer for a 10-9 lead after one.

The Cowboy lead quickly shot out to 16-9 early in the second quarter with Cunliffe scoring four early points. After a layup by Cunliffe with 3:52 left in the first half, Grantsville was able to hold their lead steady at 20-13.

The second quarter didn’t end as well as the Cowboys would have liked because of back-to-back buckets by Ben Lomond’s Dalton Zundel and Jared Jackson cut the Grantsville lead to 20-17 heading into halftime.

Grantsville scored the first four points of the second half with a Cunliffe layup and two free throws by Harrison but Ben Lomond came charging back like they always do. Eight straight points from the Scots helped get them back into the game and a Jackson put back gave Ben Lomond a 25-24 lead with 5:26 left in the third.

Hamm came on for Grantsville at the end of the third and scored four points while Cunliffe added a layup off of an offensive rebound to help the Cowboys hold on to a 33-27 lead heading into the final quarter.

Both offenses came out struggling but for Ben Lomond is was the defense of Grantsville that got in the way. It took nearly three minutes in the fourth to finally get points from either team and most of Grantsville’s points came from the foul line.

Grantsville has had games where the free throw line would be a terrifying place to end a game but against Ben Lomond they sank their freebies. Ben Lomond resorted to more of a one-on-one game in the final quarter and the Grantsville defense shut that down.

Grantsville converted six consecutive free throws coupled by a layup by Erickson to seal the game for the Cowboys.

“It was a great team effort and great defensive effort,” Heath said. “We don’t want to be the region doormat anymore.”

Grantsville, now 1-1 in Region 11, travels to Salt Lake City to face Judge Memorial on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com