Dust Devils snap losing skid
Dave Price
DAYTON - It was a typical game for these two Lyon County rivals - hard fought and it came right down to the wire.
And in the end, the Dayton High boys basketball team managed to convert some key free throws and some key defensive stops to pull out a 50-44 victory at home against Yerington.
With a total of 61 fouls called against the two teams, it wasn't pretty. Dayton coach Rob Streeter wasn't about to complain after watching the Dust Devils (4-6 overall, 1-2 Northern 3A) snap a six-game losing streak.
"After six losses, I'll take any win," Streeter said.
It was a big win for the Dust Devils, who had lost back-to-back league games against Fernley and Rite of Passage by a combined seven points. They dropped a 71-67 verdict at home to Rite of Passage on Friday night.
At the same time, this was a tough loss for Yerington (8-5, 1-2).
"When you play Dayton, you know they're going to bring it and play physical. You just have to cowboy-up and play hard, too," Yerington coach Daron Wildermuth said. "We battled back and we were in a ball game. We just missed too many free throws and we made too many turnovers at the end. You cannot turn the ball over four times at the end of a ball game and expect to win."
Free throws were a key statistic for the Lions, who only shot 18-for-36 from the line - barely 50 percent. "We missed 18 free throws. That's the worst we've shot all year," Wildermuth said.
Dayton was only slightly better from the line - 21-for-34 - although Adam Diament and Matt Bowman combined to knock down six of eight free throws in the final 62 seconds after Yerington had pulled to within 42-40.
Diament was 1-of-2 to give the Dust Devils a three-point lead. Next, Yerington's John Little dropped in a baseline jumper to make it 43-42 with 56 seconds remaining. Diament answered by sinking a pair of free throws to give Dayton a 45-42 lead.
Wildermuth called for a timeout with 28.7 seconds showing on the clock, but the Lions never got a chance to put up a 3-point shot to tie the score when they turned the ball over on a 5-second violation.
Bowman sank two more free throws with 19.3 seconds remaining to put the Dust Devils in command. The senior guard finished with 13 points to lead all scorers on the night.
Diament also scored 10 and Ryan Blaver scored eight, including a pair of 3-pointers, to aid the Dust Devils.
"It was a great team effort," Streeter said. "All 10 guys contributed. That and we stepped up our defensive intensity. We held them to 18 points with three field goals in the first half and that was big because Yerington has been playing well. They're a big squad and they're going to be heard from this year."
Dylan Johnson scored 12 points and Derek Lee Jr. added eight to lead the Lions, who trailed 30-18 at halftime.
The Lions trailed 40-33 at the end of the third quarter and began the fourth on a high note when Johnson drove for a layup, drew a foul and added the free throw to complete the three-point play.
After that, it was a fight to the finish.
"This was a dogfight tonight. They're all going to be dogfights in this league," Streeter said.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Jeff Emm and Scott Veil combined to score nine points during a fourth quarter run that lifted Yerington to a 54-52 win over Dayton.
Yerington held a two-point lead with 6:03 remaining, but Emm and Veil led a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to give the Lions a 51-42 cushion. Dayton did make it interesting at the end when William Wagoner and Shane Castro scored baskets to make it a two-point game.
Jeremy Means led all scorers with 16 points for Yerington, while Veil finished with 11 and Emm 10. Erik Hopper led Dayton with nine points.