Dayton boys knock off Yerington

Appeal Staff Report

In another typical, low scoring, hard fought battle, the Dayton High boys basketball team won the battle to stay in first place in the Northern 3A with a 43-34 win over Yerington on Wednesday in Dayton.

Dayton improved to 9-3 in the Northern 3A and kept at least a share of first in the standings. Yerington fell to 8-4 and depending on how Incline did on Wednesday, the Lions fell into a tie for second or third as Sparks is also 8-4. Dayton has also swept Yerington, so if the two teams end up tied in the standings, the Dust Devils would own the tiebreaker.

The top two teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will receive a first round bye in the Northern 3A playoffs, which is key because that would mean only one win would be needed to make the NIAA 3A State Tournament. The top three teams will advance to state.

"As crazy as this league's been, that's a pretty big incentive to play for," Dayton coach T.W. Cunningham said.

It was a tale of two quarters in the first half as Yerington raced out to an 18-7 lead, but was held to 16 points for the rest of the game. Dayton outscored Yerington 17-4 in the second quarter and 12-5 in the third quarter to take a 36-27 lead.

"After the slow start we really turned it one and played well in a big situation and hopefully that will help us later on down the road," Cunningham said.

Tanner Wood scored 21 points, Jerrin Foster had eight points and Hans Meyer had six points for Dayton. Marcus Kness scored nine points for Yerington.

YERINGTON GIRLS 43, DAYTON 39

Yerington took command in the second and third quarters and held off a late Dayton rally to move into a first place tie with the Dust Devils in the Northern 3A. Yerington and Dayton are now both 9-3 in the Northern 3A. Spring Creek was also 8-3 heading into Wednesday.

Dayton led 15-9 after one quarter, but the Lions outscored the Dust Devils 12-3 in the second quarter and 16-7 in the third quarter to take a 37-25 lead. Kariann Kuartz scored 15 points, Kayla Lommori had 11 points and Angela Marracini added 10 points for Yerington. Chanelle Thompson scored 19 points and Brittany Hill, despite playing with an sprained ankle, added 10 points for Dayton.