DAYTON - It had all the drama of a NCAA Final Four or the seventh game of the World Series. It was a tough, physical game that kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
And, it was one that Dayton needed to win and did thanks to Dylan Taylor's shot with 2.4 seconds left which snapped a 60-all tie and gave the Dust Devils a 62-60 win in a wild Northern 3A game Friday night.
"This was huge," said Dayton coach Jason Santos, whose team fought back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit and two technical fouls which cost them four points. "Now, we've got a two-game lead on them.
"I told them to suck it up (when we got behind by 10) and try to get it down to five at the end of the third quarter. We switched to a man-to-man defense. Marcos (Macias) was getting his hands on a lot of balls and influencing every shot toward the end."
It was Macias who made two of the biggest plays down the stretch for the Dust Devils.
Tyler Firestone had tied the game at 60 when he hit the first of two free throws with 29.4 left. He missed the second, but Macias tipped the ball and Adan Gomez recovered it in the corner. Santos immediately called timeout to set up for a final shot.
The Dust Devils kept the ball out on the perimeter until about eight seconds were left. Macias drove toward the basket and got the ball to Taylor, who capped a 24-point night with his game-winning basket. Fallon was unable to get a shot off in time.
"We ran it perfectly," Santos said. "Marcos handles the ball out there fine. He penetrates fine for a big guy."
"We were in a four-out set," Taylor said. "We're supposed to swing it around. When coach says 10 we're supposed to get it inside and go hard. If he goes, I'm supposed to set a high screen and roll. I just wanted to get the win and get out of here in first place."
Dayton enjoyed an 18-13 lead after one, but a 10-1 run by Fallon gave it a 23-19 lead.
Tyler Schroder had six in the surge and Josh Morrison chipped in four. The game was tied at 23 after a Macias field goal with 3:32 left in the half and at 26 after a Taylor free throw and a free-throw line jump shot by Kage Walker. Jake Koch put the Dust Devils ahead 29-28 at the half with a basket with 13.1 remaining.
Dayton took a 35-34 lead with 4:30 left on a basket by Macias (11 points) to cap a 6-2 run, which also featured baskets by Taylor and Firestone (11 points).
That's when the game started to get away from the Dust Devils, as Fallon went on a 10-0 run to take a 45-35 lead with 2:03 remaining.
Santos was hit with a technical foul even though he didn't say anything to the official, and Taylor also was T'd up for voicing his displeasure. Aaron Evett made all four free throws. Evett also tacked on a 3-pointer in the surge and Miles Adams made two layups.
Dayton scored 10 of the next 13 points to slice Fallon's lead to 48-45 after three, as Koch and Taylor both drained 3-pointers. Taylor's came with less than a second left.
The game see-sawed back and forth the entire fourth quarter. The teams were never separated by more than three points, and there were seven lead changes in the final eight minutes.
Dayton regained the lead, 49-48, when Taylor scored four straight points to open the fourth quarter. Schroder tied it at 49 with a free throw with 6:54 left. Fallon took a 57-55 lead thanks to two free throws by Tommy Stockard and a bucket by Schroder, who led Fallon with 23.
Macias tied it at 57 with 2:10 left. Three Schroder free throws gave Fallon a 60-59 lead, its last of the game.
It was a tough one for Fallon to lose. The Greenwave had already lost to Yerington and it can ill afford to stub its toe again.
"It was an entertaining game," said Fallon coach Chip Rutledge. "Both teams played hard, and it was a physical game (47 fouls). Jason played it exactly like I would have, work the clock and if you don't get anything go to overtime.
"I hope (this was a preview of state). Dayton has an awesome team, Virgin Valley is good, and you have Lowry and some other teams here in the area. Hopefully we get there."