Dayton boys lose another close one

TRUCKEE, Calif. - The Dayton Dust Devils had no intention of going down quietly in Saturday's 3A crossover game at Truckee.

The host Wolverines turned a one-point halftime deficit into a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter, then had to fend off a strong comeback effort by a resilient Dayton squad in the final minutes to hold on for a 60-54 win.

"That was a great game. It was a battle," said Truckee coach Angelo Tenorio. "Dayton is a good ballclub. They didn't quit. They kept coming at us, so that was good for our kids to face that kind of an effort and fight through it."

The late surge by the Dust Devils, who trailed 50-37 with about 3 1/2 minutes to go, was their second comeback of the game.

Using its length to control the boards, Truckee jumped out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter before Dayton responded with four straight points to open the second.

Dayton continued to chip away at the lead throughout the quarter, taking advantage of an overaggressive Truckee defense that put the visitors in the bonus early, and at the free-throw line often. Dayton's Dylan Taylor and Tyler Firestone combined to score the final nine points of the quarter to give the Dust Devils their first lead of the game at 23-22 entering the half.

After the break, Truckee switched up its defense from man-to-man to zone as its offense began to find creases against Dayton's own 2-3 zone. David Burnham drained a three-ball at the start of the third quarter to give the lead back to the Wolverines, who extended the advantage to seven points, 37-32, by the end of the period.

Dayton's Cody Yeater hit a big three in the opening minute of the fourth, but Truckee responded with three consecutive buckets in the paint, all by junior post Adam Morgan.

After Truckee guard Graham Millie made a trey to push the lead to 50-37 with 3:45 remaining, Dayton coach Jason Santos switched to an aggressive man defense and full-court press that caused numerous Truckee turnovers.

"They didn't really handle the pressure that well and we were able to get some turnovers off of that," Santos said. "We closed the gap a little, but it's been the same story all year. We dig ourselves a hole in the first half and we can't pull it off in the end."

The Dust Devils shaved the lead to six points on a couple of occasions down the final stretch, but Truckee post Clayton O'Connell came up with two big buckets in the paint before icing the game with a pair of free throws in the last seconds.

"They put a little more pressure on us (in the fourth quarter), and we started turning the ball over because we were not attacking," Tenorio said. "But the kids responded. They're turning things around and playing with heard and passion. They're really coming together and really working hard."

The Wolverines, who had lost six of their last seven games, improved to 4-7 overall as the Dust Devils fell to 7-6.

Taylor led all scorers with 18 points, while Firestone finished with 14 for Dayton. Morgan and O'Connell each scored 15 points to pace Truckee as Burnham contributed 11 points and Millie seven.