SPARKS - Dayton High's boys team tried to give away Tuesday night's Northern 3A game against Sparks.
The Dust Devils missed seven of eight free-throw attempts down the stretch, but held on for a 55-52 win at the Brickhouse.
"Missing free throws had been a problem all year," Dayton coach Jason Santos told the Sparks Tribune. "We are a horrible free-throw shooting team and I don't know what it is. It's cost us in both of our losses."
Another thing that helped Dayton was that Sparks coach Mike Jones called timeout moments before Henry Banks banked in a 3-pointer that would have tied the game at 55. Sparks got up two more 3-point attempts before time ran out, but came up empty.
Sparks led 43-42 with 5:10 left in the game after a jump shot by Brian Morgan. Dylan Taylor scored on a 3-pointer and a three-point play on Dayton's next two possessions to take control. Kage Walker made it a seven-point game when he knocked down two free throws with 2:19 left.
Sparks trimmed the lead to 54-52 with 1:34 left, but couldn't get over the hump.
Taylor led Dayton with 29 points.
SIERRA LUTHERAN WINS
Sierra Lutheran led 18-4 after the first quarter and went on to a 72-19 win over Gerlach on Tuesday.
Alex Borgman led the team with 13 points, while John McRae added 12 points and Kody Miller added nine.
The Falcons improved to 2-2 in 1A play and 6-6 overall. They host Sage Ridge at 6 p.m. Friday.
GIRLS VARSITY HOOPS
DAYTON PICKS UP WIN
SPARKS - Dayton jumped out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter and went on to a 52-39 win at Sparks on Tuesday.
The Dust Devils were led by center Erin Edison who scored 13 points. Edison, listed at 6-1, used her size to score a majority of her points from the low post according to coach Cliff Serawop. He said Edison was a force defensively blocking numerous shots.
Maribel Ledezma added 10 points, Destinee Serawop added nine points and Amber Brooks chipped in seven.
Dayton hosts Lowry at 6 p.m. Friday before hosting Truckee on Saturday.
BOYS JV BBALL
CARSONEVENSRECORD
The Carson High JV team improved to 2-2 in league play with a 51-37 win over North Valleys on Tuesday.
Leading the Senators were Rafe King with 10 points, Jay Lanuza and Colin McCulloch each added eight.
FROSH GIRLS HOOPS
DAYTON ROLLS
The Dust Devils had an all-around solid team performance in a 44-4 win over Sparks on Tuesday night.
Muranda Fowler scored 12 points and Ashley Sandy added eight. Eight of the nine players scored for the 3-4 Dust Devils.
Dayton plays on Friday at Lowry and Saturday at Truckee.