Dayton set for 3A state championships

Don't be suprised if Spanish Springs High School becomes Dayton North on Friday night.

That's because a large number of the community members from Dayton should be at the NIAA 3A State Championship semifinals to watch their Dust Devils. The Dayton boys basketball team will face Virgin Valley in one semifinal at 7:45 p.m.

In the other semifinal on Friday, Manogue will play Moapa Valley. The winners will play for the state title at 5 p.m. Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Dayton is coming off winning its first ever Northern 3A title last weekend, beating Manogue 54-47 in the finals. Dayton advanced to the Northern 3A final with a 48-35 win over Rite of Passage.

Both Manogue and ROP like up tempo games and Dayton figures to face more of the same against Virgin Valley. Much like Manogue, Virgin Valley also likes to use a frenetic style of ball pressure.

"A lot of ball pressure," said Dayton coach Rob Streeter about Virgin Valley. "They do like to get up and down.

"They like an up tempo game. I think it will be something similar to what we saw last weekend. We just can't let them run their stuff. We need to disrupt their offensive continuity."

That's something that Dayton was able to do last weekend as it never really allowed Manogue and ROP into the style of play they like. "We try to keep you a little off balance," Streeter said.

The key to Dayton's success all year long has been its defense. The Dust Devils like to mix up their defenses, switching from man to zone and can even full court press if it desires.

"We keep good ball pressure," Streeter said. "We look to switch it up."

Streeter said as long as his team plays to its ability, it should be all right.

"We do game plan for other teams, but for the most part we take care of ourselves," he said.

Against Manogue, Jake Deen had 17 points and 14 rebounds. "That was huge," said Streeter about Deen's rebounding.

But Deen only scored two points in the second half against Manogue.

"I didn't feel we got Jake enough touches in the second half," Streeter said.

Another key to the win over Manogue was the ability of Dayton's guards - Matt Bowman, Justin Harris and Nick McQueen - to handle Manogue's pressure. Dayton goes with a three-guard lineup with Bowman, Harris and McQueen to go along with Deen and Brian Lahmann up front.

Dayton has also received strong bench play from Adam Diament, Daniel Green and Dylan Morris. In addition, Streeter said R.C. Remington played a key role in the win over ROP.

"They're really stepped up," said Streeter about his bench. "They're the reason why we're still here."

Another big reason why Dayton is still playing is the community support.

"We've had tremendous community support," Streeter said. "This is just a real neat thing four our school and community. It's been a lot of fun."

Charles Whisnand is the Nevada Appeal Sports Editor.