The Dayton boys basketball put itself on the verge of finishing the regular season in third place in the Northern 3A Division with its biggest win of the year.
Dayton upset second place Lowry 64-60 on Friday, improving to 9-1 at home. Lowry fell to 12-3 in league play while the Dust Devils improved to 9-6 in league. Dayton can clinch third with a win against Spring Creek at 2:30 p.m. today at home.
"It was a great high school game," Dayton coach Rob Streeter said. "We take a lot of pride in playing at home."
Dayton outscored Lowry 19-11 in the third quarter to take a 47-40 lead and led by 11 points in the fourth quarter before Lowry made a late rally.
"They caught fire," Streeter said. "They were chucking some desperation shots up and they ended up going in."
But Dayton made 9-of-14 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Brian Lahmann had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Nick McQueen scored 20 points and Jake Deen added 15 points for Dayton.
"We came out with the defensive intensity that it takes to win big games," Streeter said. "We feel we're starting to peak at the right time. It's a really nice momentum builder heading into the division tournament."
YERINGTON 60, SPRING CREEK 51
The Yerington boys basketball team is ending the year on a high note and building momentum for next year.
With a virtually-all junior club, Yerington defeated Spring Creek 60-51 on Friday. The Lions improved to 3-12 in the Northern 3A division, moving into a tie with the Spartans, who are also 3-12.
"We don't want to end up in last place," Yerington coach Daron Wildermuth said.
"That shows some character, not only the kids, but the town and the progam," Wildermuth also said about the way his team is finishing the season. "We'll go and battle to the end."
Yerington built a 42-31 halftime lead and was never seriously threatened in the second half.
The Lions were led by their big three juniors of Wes Thomas, Del Conway and point guard Heimy Olivera.
Thomas played a key role in Yerington's rebounding advantage against Spring Creek, grabbing 11 rebounds while scoring 24 points.
Conway hit six of Yerington's nine three-pointers on his way to scoring 22 points.
"He's just coming into his own in just being an offensive force," Wildermuth said.
Olivera had nine points, six rebounds and three steals. "It starts with him," Wildermuth said. "My big three had really good games."