Galena, Dayton boys win

The Galena High boys basketball team turned a close game into a rout on Friday with a a 58-35 win at Reed.

Galena led 34-29 after three quarters before outscoring Reed 24-6 to break the game open. The Grizzlies (7-0 in the High Desert League) held Reed to 12 points in the second half and to just two three-pointers for the entire game.

The win was especially impressive since Galena was playing without Eric Maupin, who sustained a knee injury on Tuesday against Manogue. Maupin has a strained ACL and will be out two-to-six weeks.

Without Maupin, the three players that need to come up big for Galena did in Luke Babbitt, Brice Crook and Tristan Hill. Babbitt scored 20 points, Crook had 14 points and Hill added 12 points.

"Those are three kids that we are going to have to count on now," Galena coach Tom Maurer said.

Maurer also praised the play of Maupin's replacement, 6-5 Luke Leonard. "He did an outstanding defensive job and his boards were critical," said Maurer, who added Leonard executed the high-low game with Babbitt well.

"We got a good battle for three quarters," Maurer said. "We needed a game like this. Basically we needed a good game to test our character and test our will. I thought we played real good team basketball in the second half."

GALENA GIRLS 65, REED 61

Galena passed its first real test of the season in the High Desert League, overcoming a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter and nine three-pointers by Reed to stay unbeaten in league.

"I was real nervous," said Galena coach Karen Friel, who added her team was able to come up with some key defensive stops down the stretch.

"I think last year, I don't think we would have won this game. We played with a lot of heart. I'm very proud."

Another key to Galena's win was its foul shooting where it hit 25-of-47 from the line. Caitlin Anderson scored 15 points, Amy Scott had 12 points and Langley Iverson and Megan Molinari each added 10 points for the Grizzlies.

LOWRY 51, DAYTON GIRLS 26

Dayton shot just 8-of-37 from the floor in the loss. "We started strong and ended strong, but had some lows in the middle of the game," Dayton coach Shari Andreasen said. "It was a big improvement from the last time we saw Lowry.

"They are a strong team and in the second quarter we let their pressure rush us. We didn't play our game at that time. I am very pleased that we didn't give up and quit.

"We played until the buzzer sounded. We are still waiting for the game when our shots fall. I know it will be soon."

Melony Cox scored 11 points, Brittany Hill had seven points and seven rebounds, Stephanie Greer had six rebounds and Rebecca Monzello added five rebounds for Dayton.

In the boys game, Dayton kept rolling despite not being at full strength, beating Lowry 57-44 to stay unbeaten in the Northern 3A. Two of Dayton's starters, Jordan Stokes and Travis Wood, are serving a two-week suspension that they began serving on Wednesday when the Dust Devils beat Sparks in overtime.