The Carbon Dinos boys basketball team used a strong second half to top the Tooele Buffaloes 54-46 in the opening round of the 3A State Tournament Friday night on the road.

Using a stellar defensive second half the Dinos erased an early deficit to advance past the play-in round for the first time since 1995. Outscoring Tooele 15-6 in the third quarter, Carbon won the final stanza 19-18 to capture the win.

Kyle Quinton continued his dominating senior campaign to lead the Dinos with 17 points. Chase Morgan provided a strong second option with 10 points. Both Gage Daugherty and Jamin Jensen finished with eight.

Entering the do-or-die contest fresh off an emotional win over Juab, Carbon struggled out of the gate offensively. Outscoring Tooele in each of the next three quarters was enough to lift the Dinos in another exciting win.

Jeno Bins lead Tooele with 13 points in the season ending loss. Both Mitchell Bunn and Dawson Banks contributed 10, while Kyler Hymas finished with seven. Tooele failed to match Carbon’s ability from deep, converted just three shots from beyond the perimeter compared to six for the Dinos.

Friday’s win means the Dinos will continue the season Thursday at Utah State University in Logan. Standing in the way of a trip to the semifinals is Ridgeline, the No. 1 seed from Region 11. Ridgeline defeated Hurricane 72-59 Friday to advance to the final stage of the season.

Thursday’s contest is scheduled to begin at 11:10 a.m.. The winner will meet either Stansbury or Desert Hills the following night at 7:30 p.m.. A loss in Thursday’s quarterfinals matchup would mean a consolation game on Friday at 12:50 p.m..