Dayton Falls to Garfield-Palouse, TCP

DAYTON – Entering the week at 0-12 the Dayton Bulldog boys varsity squad remains positive going down the stretch run of their season. With less than two weeks to go in a year that has yet to see a win, the players refuse to simply go through the motions.

On January 13, the Bulldogs headed to the Palouse for a road game against state powerhouse Garfield-Palouse. In a matchup that pitted teams going in opposite directions, the 11-0 Vikings made quick and easy work of the Bulldogs with an overwhelming 70-8 victory.

Dayton had a difficult time dealing with the size and strength of Garfield Palouse and found themselves down quickly, never finding a way to recover. In a game that saw the Bulldogs shoot just 8%, 2 for 25 from floor, the Vikings found a way to convert, shooting 26 for 59 or 44%.

On the heels of the blowout, the Bulldogs put in a much better showing against WP on Friday (see separate story). Still catching their collective breaths, the 0-14 Bulldogs managed to show signs of life, losing to the Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars, 53-36, on Saturday.

The Bulldogs trailed TCP 21-5 after one quarter. And though Dayton again scored five points in the second quarter, they managed to play better defensively, allowing just ten Jaguar points. The

Poor shooting and an inability to move the ball, causing consistent turnovers have been the biggest issues facing the Dayton Bulldogs. Both of these factors were evident in the first half, where the 'Dogs found themselves down 31-10.

The Bulldogs came out strong to start the second half. With the help of Ian Smay, Matthew Warren and Zach Waggoner, the they mounted one of their best offensive quarters all season. Though they committed five turnovers, Dayton outscored the Jaguars in the third quarter, 16-11. Dayton played tough defensively, causing several bad shots and turnovers, while offensively the Bulldogs made two rebound put-back shots, one by Tanner Bren and the other by Matthew Warren.

Heading into the fourth, Dayton was down 42-26. The Bulldogs continued to play tough, limit their turnovers to a game low three, but could not find the basket with any regularity in the 53-36 loss.

The Bulldogs were lead by Zach Waggoner's 11 points and Ian Smay's 10. Smay connected on two three-pointers.

At 0-15 the Dayton Bulldogs look for their first victory of the season on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at DeSales.