Dayton Boys On 3-Game Winning Streak

DAYTON -- So far so good for the Bulldogs this season.

"Roy's boys" won their first three games, going 3-0 after beating the Riverview Panthers, 49-33, at their home court on Tuesday night.

" The effort has been great," head coach Roy Ramirez said after the game. "We're struggling a little from the field, but that will come. It's nice to coach these boys. They know how to play basketball. It will be a pretty special year."

Dayton won its first game away against TOR, 58-44, on Nov. 29, then ran into the young and scrappy Pomeroy Pirates team that forced the season's second game into overtime. The Bulldogs won that knock-down, drag-out fight 79-67.

"We didn't shoot extremely well," Ramirez said about the Bulldogs' accuracy during the first game against TOR. "But the effort's always there."

Up by only eight points at the half, the Bulldogs managed to shut down 6-foot, 5-inch Max Meuller, TOR's big offensive weapon, and held him to a below-average 16 points.

In the game against the Pirates from Pomeroy, the Bulldogs initially underestimated the young team, whose accuracy from the field yielded them no fewer than 11 treys. Dayton on the other hand, "couldn't buy a bucket" to save its life, Ramirez said. The Bulldogs were 26/83 from the field and 22/46 from the free throw line.

"We overlooked them because they're so young," the head coach said. "But these kids are going to be great in a couple of years."

After the final buzzer, the Bulldogs "finally decided to play," causing turnovers and stepping up the defense before forcing Pomeroy to walk the plank 15-3 for a final score of 79-67.

In Tuesday night's game against the Panthers, Dayton came out with lots of intensity, quickly building a solid lead that only slipped in the third quarter, when Riverview shaved its deficit to 10 points.

But the Bulldogs woke up when Hayden Fullerton stole the ball, deftly passed it to Wyatt Frame, who arced it in for a field goal with 5 minutes to go in the game.

Colton Bickelhaupt followed with a trey and before the Panthers knew it, Dayton had rebuilt its 20 plus-points lead, winning the contest, 49-33.

"There was a lull there in the third quarter," Ramirez said. "It's early in the season and our shooting percentage isn't the best yet, but our defense keeps us in the game."

The Bulldogs' next game is next Tuesday against Pomeroy at home.

Bulldog Scores

Nov. 29

Day 14 15 14 16 - 58

TOR 13 9 11 13 - 44

Garret Turner 18

Colton Bickelhaupt 14

Kroft Sunderland 9

Hayden Fullerton 8

FT13/25 for 52%

Dec. 3

Day 12 23 16 11 15 - 79

Pom 9 15 22 18 3 - 67

Kroft Sunderland 22

Garret Turner 18

Joey Schlachter 16

Hayden Fullerton 13

Colton Bickelhaupt 8

FT 22/46

Dec. 6

Day 13 16 8 12 - 49

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Garret Turner 15

Hayden Fullerton 12

Wyatt Frame 7

Kroft Sunderland 6

Colton Bickelhaupt 5

FT 16/48 for 7%