Bulldogs Keelhaul Pirates 58-30scoring

POMEROY - Dayton junior Hayden Fullerton may have had the best game of his life Tuesday night in Pomeroy. The Dayton boys brought the Pirates to their knees dur­ing this pre-season basketball game, out-scoring Pomeroy 58-30.

Fullerton scored 19 of those points, making four out of six three-point shot attempts.

"Fullerton just went bal­listic," said Jeff Turner, a scorekeeper for the Bulldogs.

Vying for the spotlight Tuesday night were juniors Kroft Sunderland, scoring 11 points, and Colton Bickel­haupt, with 10 points. "We played well, and we shot well," said head coach Roy Ramirez after the game. "Defensively we really got after them, really knocked them down. I think even if we hadn't shot as well we would have beat them with defense." Dayton came out strong in the first half with Fullerton

15 points before the break. Ramirez was pleased with Fullerton's contributions Tuesday night but praised the whole team for its success on the court. "Yeah, Hayden shot the ball well. He's our shooter, and when he gets hot, he can really shoot the ball," he said. Garret Turner, one of the Bulldogs' top scorers, was out sick, but Ramirez said the team really worked together to win the game.

"It was a whole team ef­fort," Ramirez said. "Yeah, Garret's a real important part of our team, but I'm real con­fident in all our guys." Ramirez said the boys shared the ball well, with 17 assists. "That's a good indication they're really sharing the ball," he said. The Bulldogs also had 26 rebounds, six by Fullerton, and five by Sunderland and Joey Schlachter.

Dayton defeated Pomeroy 47-34 two weeks ago.

Tuesday's win was espe­( cially exciting for Ramirez after last Wednesday's game at home against Tekoa-Oakesdale.

The Bulldogs came out ahead, but just barely with score of 43-37. "We didn't shoot the ball well," Ramirez said. "Defen­sively we played well enough to win, we shot the ball well enough to win, but that's all."

He said the team did better job blocking in the second half. Schlachter had 10 rebounds and Colton Bickelhaupt had three assists. "Sometimes you have to have those games where you play just good enough to win, and that's what that was," he said. The Bulldogs play again Friday against the Waitsburg-Prescott Cardinals in Waits­burg for the league opener. The boys' varsity game starts at 7:30 p.m. "That's going to be a tough game," Ramirez said. "Those guys (WP) are always tough. We're going to have to play good to beat them."

Last year WP beat Dayton in both league games. The Cardinals barely lost their first game of the season against the Tigerscots on Tuesday. The Bulldogs play the Panthers on Saturday in Aso­tin. The boys' varsity game begins at 6:30 p.m.

DAYTON BOYS:

Dayton vs. Tekoa-Oakesdale (Dec. 8)

Dayton 10 10 12 11 43

TO 6 6 13 12 37

Dayton (43) Wyatt Frame 4, Jason Norris 6, Colton Bickelhaupt 10, Joey Schlachter 2, Dain Henderson 6, Hayden Fullerton 19, Kroft Sunderland 11. Free Throws: 41%

Dayton vs. Pomeroy (Dec. 14)

Dayton 20 17 15 6 58

Pomeroy 9 10 5 6 30

Dayton (58) Dayton- Wyatt Frame 2, Jason Norris 2, Colton Bickelhaupt 2, Joey Schlachter 5, Dain Henderson 7, Hayden Fullerton 2, Seth Jackson, Garett Turner 14, Kroft Sunderland 9. Free Throws: 45%