Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Kleck leads Dayton boys to first win in over a year; first win for coach Hutchens
Dayton's Ben Kleck puts up a three-point shot during the first half of the Bulldogs' win Saturday. Kleck scored a game-high 31 points, including two three-pointers.
Dayton's Zech Bryan (32) gets an elbow in the face as he fights for a rebound. Lane Wilkening (21) looks on.
DAYTON – The Dayton boys' basketball team gave their new coach, Will Hutchens, his first victory in their first outing this year, beating St. John-Endicott at home, 64-36.
Junior guard Ben Kleck, who missed all of last season with an injury, led the Bulldogs with 31 points, including two three-pointers.
"It was a good confidence builder for the team," Hutchens said of the win. "We've got a lot of things we still need to improve, but you can't ask for a better first game than that."
The Bulldogs took a 32-22 lead into halftime and then outscored the Eagles 19-6 in the third quarter on their way to the lopsided win.
"All eight guys contributed," Hutchens said. "Ben shot well. Zach (Waggoner) was all over the boards. Jeff Tate and Zech Bryan did well for their first varsity starts. Tanner Bren had some nice passes on the break."
Hutchens also praised his team's ability to adjust in the second half. "Their point guard, Adam Blakeley, had 15 of their 22 points at halftime," Hutchens said of St. John's leading scorer. "He's quick and smart, and no one seemed to be able to slow him down. Fortunately, we defended him better in the second half."
For the game, Kleck made 12 of his 24 attempts from the field and was five for six from the free-throw line. Waggoner scored 14 points, including a three-pointer. Bryan scored 11, going four for seven from the floor and three for four from the line.
Overall, the Bulldogs shot 41% from the floor and 63% from the line. They outrebounded St. John 34-28.
"We have a tough week coming up, with Pomeroy on the road (played Tuesday) and Liberty at home on Saturday night," Hutchens said. "We'll have to rebound better and play tougher defense than we did (against St. John) if we want to compete with both of those teams."
St. John 14 8 6 8 - 36
Dayton 17 15 19 13 - 64
ST. JOHN (36) - Blakely 7-14 5-7 19, Webb 0-2 0-0 0, Bailey 0-0 0-0 0, Lundberg 3-11 0-0 7, Fox 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-2 0-00, L. Bailey 4-8 0-0 8, Parrish 1-13 0-2 2. Totals 15-49 5-11 36
DAYTON (64) - Helm 0-3 1-2 1, Tate 0-2 0-0 0, Vance 1-4 0-0 3, Kleck 12-24 5-6 31, Bryan 4-7 3-4 11, Bren 0-2 0-0 0, Waggoner 5-15 3-7 14, Wilkening 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 24-59 12-19 64
3-point goals - SJE 1-7 (Lundberg), Day 4-12 (Vance, Kleck 2, Waggoner). Total fouls - SJE 17, Day 10. Fouled out - SJE (Anderson) Technical fouls - none. Rebounds - SJE 28, Day 34. Turnovers - SJE 22, Day 19
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