By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore– Going into the second half, the young Dayton Boys Basketball team found themselves in a ball game with Salem Academy to open PacWest Conference play on Tuesday night.
Trailing 25-22 going into the second half they, the Pirates, held the Crusaders to just 30,3-percent shooting from the field as they were looking for their second victory of the season. All the while looking to start league play off strongly.
They’ve gone through their lumps and their bumps, but they’re taking it in stride as they hope it’ll pay off at the end.
“It’s been good, we’ve been playing a lot of good teams. They all pressured us really hard and that’s what we need. All these teams are just going to continue to pressure us,” starts Dayton’s Tanner Gentry.
“We did a good job hustling, everyone was giving 100-percent,” Gentry said of the first half on Tuesday.
But then, early in the second half, the Pirates’ youth showed. Costly turnovers in the third quarter allowed an experienced Crusaders team to get some momentum going. By the end of the third quarter, Salem Academy pushed their lead to 54-35 by quarter’s end.
Coming off a 2A State Playoff appearance last season in Pendleton, the Crusaders come back in their first year in 3A looking to return to the Elite 8, this time to Coos Bay come March.
“Last year was a super fun year, it was a breakthrough year after winning the State Championship three years ago, down year (two years ago) and then back to getting to Pendleton (last year) was awesome. A lot of the players got to experienced that ride and saw what it takes to play at the tournament level,” starts Salem Academy Head Coach Jeff Dunn. “We carried that over to June Ball and now coming into this year what we need to be playing in March.
“They’re focused on that right now. The motivation for it is way different. They’re motivated to play at a high level and peak in February when we need to.”
The Crusaders carried that momentum into the fourth en route to a 77-46 victory and a 3-1 start to the year.
Boone Dunn led Salem Academy with 24 points and seven rebounds, Noah Burns added another 16 points in the win for the Crusaders, who are heading to Taft on Friday. Dayton, who will play Blanchet on Thursday, were led by Gentry’s 14 points. Jax Brandon-Sanchez contributed 12 points and six rebounds in the defeat for the Pirates.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
