Anthony Martinez contributed 28 points, and Josh Goss added 26, as Dayton High School beat visiting ROP 79-72 to capture the Lake Tourney championship on Friday.
Dayton had a five-point lead going into the second quarter, and it quickly increased its lead from there. Josh Goss hit a field goal with 3:30 left in the half to give Dayton a 10-point lead, its largest of the game.
ROP regrouped at the half and held Dayton to only 11 points in the third quarter, cutting Dayton's lead to just four to start the fourth.
Then the Rams rallied to tie the game at 58 with just over six minutes left thanks to a couple Dayton turnovers. Martinez was whistled for an offensive foul, his fourth, and Jonathan Harris came down on ROP's next possession and hit the tying 3-pointer.
Martinez had to come out of the game because of the foul trouble, and he sat for about three mintues. With the Dust Devils star on the bench, there were several lead changes, and ROP took a three-point lead with just 2:45 left to play.
Garcia called a time out to help his team refocus, and Martinez, who had five 3-pointers in the game, came back in.
Martinez also shot 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, but it was Josh Goss who stepped up in the end and hit the game-tying free throws. He took a foul during a scramble for a loose ball, and then hit both ends of the 1-and-1 to tie the game at 72.
With less than two minutes to go, Goss came up big again with the game-winning free throws. ROP would not score again, as Dayton went into delay mode, forcing the Rams to foul in hopes of regaining possession.
Dayton made its shots from the free-throw line, scoring five more on foul shots.
"We could have been better prepared, and now we know what we have to do in order to be ready for league," Garcia added.
Harris finished with 20 points for ROP, as did Steveland Arthur. Caesar Alberti added seven.
Dayton (8-5) will host Pershing County to start league play at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.