Fallon's Braxton Hunter (5) makes a jump-shot.
The Wave boys basketball team is learning to make the best out of who they have to work with, evident Friday in the 46-44 overtime victory on the road against the Dayton Dust Devils.
Fallon is currently 9-12 overall and 6-6 in D1-A, and Dayton is 5-14 overall and 2-8. The Wave’s next game is at home against the Elko on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Though Fallon coach Brad Barton said he was happy the team won, the Wave got lucky in Dayton territory.
“We didn’t play very good basketball and still we came away with a victory,” Barton said. “We didn’t shoot very well at all since only shot 28 percent. We shot horribly from the free throw line and we turned the ball over about 24 times. Anytime you do that that’s usually a recipe for disaster. The only difference was we kept our cool under the circumstances when the other team lost their cool a little bit. We were pretty fortunate that we got sent to the free throw line at a pretty opportune time.”
Fallon’s defense toward the end allowed the players to limit Dayton’s scoring under the net, which Barton said helped the Wave creep back and regain the 10 points back that pushed the game into overtime. The Wave then won the game on the free-throw line.
Barton said that he believes his team is still in good shape with the playoffs looming on the horizon, particularly in light of Sparks’ double losses this weekend that moved the Wave ahead of the Railroaders by two wins.
Fallon’s Braxton Hunter led the Wave with 11 points followed by Craig Smith at 10 and Kaleel Rickerson at five.
Barton said additions Trae Thomson and Christian Nemeth have both earned a permanent spot on the Wave for the rest of the season, since the team’s decision to move forward without the suspended players.
“We’re just going to stick with the guys that we have for now,” he said, “and those guys that made that choice, we’re not going to use them for the remainder of the season because it was a team decision that we decided to make.”
This decision was also made despite Marshall Coverston and Dylan Ridenour out indefinitely due to injuries. Although Barton said Coverston resumed practice, he added every game with his current lineup will be a challenge as the Wave’s reserves learn to play together.
“But every night at practice we’re starting to get a little better and we’re starting to see each other a little bit better on the floor every game,” Barton added. “It’s a good opportunity for us to grow and progress and even to look to the future for next year’s hopefuls.”