Keeping things tight in the first quarter then exploding in the second with the help of great dribble penetration by Holten Hunsaker and his team-leading 18 points allowed fourth-ranked Woods Cross to slip by the Buffs 71-57

Tooele's Matt Wihongi led all scorers with 21 points along with Boone Baird, who added 14 in the losing effort.

The visiting Wildcats started off the game with a frantic defense that continually got in the way of Tooele passes early on. With their defense creating opportunities Woods Cross got off to an early 5-0 lead behind Hunsaker's three pointer.

"Their defense was continually flying around anticipating our passes and causing turnovers early on for us," said Tooele coach Ray Brazier. "It definitely got us out of sync to start the game."

Once Tooele got settled into its offense Matt Trussell scored six straight points to keep it close and Wihongi hit a three near the end of the first to leave the Buffs only down two points at the end of the one quarter.

The scoring didn't end there for Wihongi as he reeled off 14 straight points for Tooele to start the second quarter, but the only problem was the Wildcats simultaneously found holes in the Tooele defense for easy lay-ups to keep the lead changing hands several times.

Woods Cross continued to find easy lay-ups and ended the first half on a 12-4 run to give the Wildcats a 10 point 38-28 lead at half.

"We played with heart and contribution but we lost focus on defense, allowing too many lay-ups." Brazier said. "That is where we need to stay disciplined."

Tooele came out flat in the third and Woods Cross took advantage scoring 7 points in the quarter. The Buffs did recover with the help of a pair of 3-pointers by Baird as he scored 9 points on the quarter to keep Tooele within reach 56-46 heading into the fourth.

After being held scoreless in the third Wihongi came on strong in the fourth scoring 6 and the defense held Woods Cross to only two field goals in the quarter but the Wildcats made the enough of their free throws to seal the 14-point victory.

"This game showed that we can play with anybody when we are in a close game with a very good Woods Cross team," coach Brazier said after the game. "One thing we wanted to work on was cutting down on our fouls on defense and moving our feet more and I think we accomplished that. I am very impressed by the team's ability to be coached, it really shows their humility."

Along with leading scorers Wihongi and Baird, Trussell also reached double digits with 10 points of his own.

Tooele (1-2) travels to Juan Diego tomorrow at 7 p.m. While their next home game is Tuesday as they host Cyprus at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com