Dayton boys basetball back in playoff race

DAYTON — J.J. Ply and the Dayton boys basketball team placed itself back in the playoff race by finishing off a big weekend, beating Truckee 58-42 on Saturday.

Dayton is battling Lowry for the final playoff spot into the Northern Regionals and the Dust Devils beat Lowry on Friday. Dayton only made 12 baskets against Truckee, but had an outstanding game from the foul line, going 33-of-42 on free throws.

Ply had his eight double-double of the year with a monster game, scoring 34 points. He also led Dayton’s strong effort on the boards with 16 rebounds and added four steals.

Also for Dayton, Trevor Burrows had six points and seven rebounds, Brenden Thomas had six points and five rebounds, Chase Peterson had 10 points, three steals and four rebounds, Carson Crosby had seven rebounds and Weston Hill added four rebounds.

VC wins

Virginia City — Colt Hess had a huge game, scoring 36 points to lead Virginia City to an impressive 58-43 win over Pyramid Lake. Ireland Franklin added 12 points for the Muckers, who improved to 10-2 in league and will host Excel Christian at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Dayton edged

DAYTON — Dayton played well, but just fell short, losing 47-44 to Trucke after leading 24-21 at halftime. “I’m disappointed, this should have been a win in our book,” Dayton coach Kelly Frantz said. “We out-hustled Truckee in this game.”

Dayton, though, was hurt by hitting just 45 percent from the foul line. Elora Neep had an outstanding game with a double-double, posting 16 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

“Elo was so much more aggressive this game and last night against Lowry and I’ve seen her really stepping up her game as the season comes to a close,” Frantz said.

Also for Dayton, Aleea McGill-Howe scored nine points and Kristina Mason finished with 7 points and five rebounds.