Bulldogs Rise To The Challenge

WALLA WALLA - If there were ever a team that deserved to place third in the league and play tough, second-ranked Asotin in the Panthers' own den Wednesday, it's the Dayton Bulldogs men's team.

They pulled out all the stops in a convincing 65-40 tie-breaker win over the Liberty Christian Patriots at the DeSales gym in Walla Walla Monday, leaving little doubt they have it in them to prevail over the talented and experienced Asotin players.

"That was a good one," senior Bulldog Dain Henderson said. "We knew we could beat them."

Head coach Roy Ramirez said it will take the kind of early momentum his boys built during the game against the Patriots to beat the Panthers, against whom they have lost twice this season.

Hayden Fullerton's trey in the first minutes of the game set the tone, followed by Kroft Sunderland scoring a bucket and drawing the foul. Henderson's tight defense and Garett Turner's deft field goals and fast breaks, plus good team rebounding added to the Bulldogs' edge. The Patriots didn't help themselves. Though they had their share of shots, few of them went in, and the Bulldogs' defense succeeded in shutting down star player Jake Siefkens, who is known to score well over two dozen points in a single game.

"I knew that if we could limit him to about 20 points and control the rest of those guys, we'd do well," Ramirez said. "It was a whole team effort. They played a complete team game."

At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs were up 18-11, spurred on by a large contingent of Dayton fans. They kept the Patriots to just seven points during the second quarter while scoring 19 points themselves, ending the period 37-18.

Liberty Christian came out strong the second half, scoring well during the early minutes, but the Patriots couldn't stem the tide. Members of the Bulldogs women's team arrived at the gym from their game in the Tri- Cities along with the large group of cheerleaders, further lifting the men's spirits and momentum. Dayton got a lastseconds field goal before the third-quarter buzzer, setting the score at 50-33 before the fourth quarter started.

Bulldog Wyatt Frame showed his tenacity, backed by Sunderland and Turner. He scored and drew several fouls in a row, then received a standing ovation from the Dayton crowd as he was subbed for Henderson.

Several of the fouls were called on Siefken, who was clearly frustrated, arguing with the refs about his infractions to no avail. The Bulldogs just opened their lead to 24, then put the nail in the coffin with one last freethrow point to put the final score at 65-40.

"I'm so proud of these boys," Ramirez said. "They did everything we asked them to do 110 percent."

Monday night's win in Walla Walla was the Bulldogs' second victory on DeSales' court in the last week. Dayton defeated the DeSales men's team Friday night 53-40, which put them in the running for league championships.

Against DeSales, Colton Bickelhaupt scored 14 of the team's points, followed closely by Fullerton's 12 and led by Turner's 16.

On Saturday, Dayton had another win against Tri- Cities Prep, with 48-37.

With an overall season record of 12-9 and a league total of 8-5, Dayton now goes on the road to Asotin, where it will battle a team led by hoop star Ben Servatius.

"Hopefully, we can carry the momentum," Ramirez said, noting the only way the Bulldogs will win is to get an early lead.

"We can't let them (Panthers) get ahead," he said. "We have to play a complete game."