The Dayton High boys basketball team overcame a rally by Yerington to win the showdown for first in the Northern 3A on Friday at Dayton, beating the Lions 57-48.
Dayton (8-0 in league) led 33-22 at halftime, but Yerington (6-2) fought back to tie the game with two minutes left. The Dust Devils then retook the lead and pulled away at the foul line.
"It was an exciting game, definitely," Dayton coach T.W. Cunningham said. "Playing games like this is definitely going to help us down the stretch We held our composure and took care of business when we had to."
Jacon Jones scored 20 points, Erik Hopper had 12 points, Mike Vincent added nine points and Travis Wood added eight points for Dayton. Cunningham also praised the play of James Yeater and Byron Trigueros. Garey Smith scored 20 points and Marcus Kness added 15 points for Yerington.
"The ball just bounced their way," Yerington coach Daron Wildermuth said. "We had our opportunities. I thought it was a very heatly contested ball game.
"They were the better problem solvers. They were obviously the better team. I'm happy with where we're at and how we competed."
About being tied with two minutes left in a game for first this late in the year, Wildermuth said, "I think if you would have told me that at the start of the season I would have taken it any day."
GALENA 70, ELKO 58
After a week of finals and a long trip to Elko, Galena boys basketball coach Tom Mauer wasn't complaining about a High Desert League win on the road.
"It's a very reward night," said Galena coach Tom Mauer after his team at Elko.
The Grizzlies (11-9, 5-0) were in control throughout, but couldn't shake a pesky Elko team until the fourth quarter when they outscored Elko 19-12. Galena took just enough advantage of its foul shooting as it hit 19-of-30 for the game and 10-of-17 in the fourth quarter.
Still, Mauer noted that if his team is going to contend for zone and state titles there was enough from Friday's game to evaluate.
"I think this is film they should look at," said Mauer, who noted his team carries a 3.6 grade point average while carrying a difficult course load. "We just were kind of in and out.
"We played really well and then kind of hurt ourselves and got them back into the game."
Luke Babbitt scored 29 points, J.D. Peters had 15 points and Eric Maupin added 13 points.
Mauer praised Maupin, who was solid on the boards after being sick all week. "I thought Maupin played outstanding," Mauer said.
Mauer also praised Peters' defense on Stephen Klekas, who was averaging 28 points a game. Klekas scored 21, including just eight in the second half.
GALENA GIRLS 53, ELKO 49
Galena (15-5, 4-1) made it a little more difficult on itself than it had to as the Grizzlies had 29 turnovers to 25 rebounds and was 6-of-21 from the foul line. "That will kill you," Galena coach Karen Friel said.
The Grizzlies outscored Elko 18-13 in the third quarter to take a 47-38 lead and held on. "We played a really good third quarter," Friel said.
Hayley Jensen scored 14 points, Langley Iverson had 11 points and Collen Kern and Collen Mullins each added 10 points for Galena.