It took a long trip to Roosevelt and Alex Childs being extremely assertive with the ball, but the Grantsville boys basketball team found their first win of the young season Saturday night. Also, with the way their play continually gets better as the season progresses, the 56-53 win over Union will be just one of many to come.

Grantsville also took a ranked Wasatch team to the wire, but faltered in the fourth quarter. The visiting Wasps got all they could handle in Grantsville and snuck out with a 61-51 victory Thursday night.

Childs was huge in the Union game pouring in 18 points as the Cougars had trouble stopping him while Cody Colson added 14 in the victory. “I talked to Alex (Childs) before the game and told him that he is one of the few players with varsity experience,” said head coach Shane Heath. “He responded well with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the game against Union.”

Jake Roberts led the Cowboys against Wasatch with 13 points followed by 10 for Austin Cunliffe in the loss.

Wasatch 61 — Grantsville 51

In a game where the referees stole the show Thursday night with their constant whistle blowing for every little violation that they thought they saw. The continual stopping of play really hindered the possibility of any team building momentum.

Wasatch and Grantsville went mainly back and forth with the lead. Jake Clonts led the Cowboys in the first quarter with five points, including a 3-pointer but more importantly, Grantsville came out with a lot more energy than their previous game at Rowland Hall.

GHS used that energy to keep the game tight, as Wasatch held a slim lead at the end of the first at 19-18. McKay Murdock helped the Wasps, as he took it to the basket hard during the first and had seven first quarter points.

Jake Roberts stepped up his play in the second quarter. In a stretch where Roberts scored five consecutive points with a fast-break layup and a 3-pointer gave Grantsville a slim lead at 24-23 with 4:37 left in the second. Roberts totaled seven points in the quarter.

However, Wasatch used a 6-2 run near the end of the quarter that was fueled by a Murdock jumper near the foul line. The run helped the visiting Wasps spurt out to a 38-33 half-time edge.

Grantsville came out quickly in the second half. Childs and Cunliffe started off the half with back-to-back fast-break layups to bring the Cowboys within one point at 38-37.

Wasatch came out with their game-plan to work the low post to find buckets closer to the basket. A 7-2 Wasatch run after Grantsville’s stretch helped pad the Wasp’s lead. A tip-in near the buzzer by Grantsville’s Colson left the Cowboys only down 49-44 heading into the final period.

The Cowboys caught Wasatch by surprise at the start of the fourth with a base line jumper by Eli Hamm and a 3-pointer by Reggie Roberts that knotted up the score at 49-49. Unfortunately, Grantsville could only muster one more field goal in the last 6:30 of the quarter.

Wasatch end the game on a 12-2 run to end any hopes of a Grantsville upset victory. “We were with Wasatch the entire game until the end,” said Heath.

Grantsville 56 — Union 53

Grantsville and Union turned out to be a back-and-forth slugfest that was an extremely close game. In fact, so close that the game was tied at half-time and at the end of the third quarter, only to have Grantsville muscle out a three-point victory in the final period.

At first Union looked like it would run Grantsville out of their gym. Always looking for the fast-break when they touched the ball, the Cougars started out on a 8-2 run.

After coach Heath called a time-out though, the Cowboys regrouped. Childs sparked the rally with a 3-pointer and layup sandwiched with baskets by Reggie and Jake Roberts (no relation) that turned into 10 straight points for GHS. Union climbed back on top with two free-throws to end the quarter up 16-14.

Trailing 20-18 a minute into the second quarter, Grantsville again aggressively attacked the basket. A true team effort on three straight possessions as Jake Roberts started it off with jumper, followed by a layup each by Colson and Childs, which Childs turned into a 3-point play. The effort sparked a 10-2 run capped by a Childs shot behind the arc to give Grantsville a 28-22 lead mid way through the second.

Union fought back to tie the game, ending the quarter on an 8-2 run to knot the game up at 30-30 heading to half-time.

The Cougars got a lot more physical with Grantsville in the third quarter. Union continually attempted to reach for the ball with any ball-handler, even when the referees called them for it. The aggressive defense helped Grantsville make seven straight free throws to give them a 41-36 cushion.

Just like the previous quarter, Union stormed back in the final minutes of the quarter to again tie up the score 45-45 with only a quarter to play.

In the final quarter, Union jumped out with an 8-2 run for a 51-47 lead, behind six points from Tyler Nelson. This time Grantsville stormed back behind a jumper from Childs and excellent free-throw shooting. In fact, the Cowboys made their first 17 shots from the free throw line, helping build a 56-53 lead with 1:01 left in the game.

With the score at 56-53, Union kept trying to hit the low-post but Grantsville’s defense kept making steals on the low-post entry passes. The Cowboys kept the game suspenseful by missing their last three free-throws.

In fact, Union’s Tyler Nelson had a shot at tying the game with a 3-pointer about 4-feet behind the arc, but the ball hit the left side of the rim as the buzzer sounded, giving Grantsville their first victory.

“I think our play is getting better every game,” said Heath. “They are starting to grasp the system and starting to trust one another.”

Grantsville (1-3) will look to keep their momentum going as they host North Summit Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com