D-W Boys basketball knocks off another opponent at the buzzer

WALLA WALLA—In clearly their best game of the season, Dayton-Waitsburg’s boys basketball team avenged an early home loss to the DeSales Irish on a last second three-point shot by sophomore guard Dylan Bledsoe to win, 49-46.

As the clock wound down Tuesday night amid a snowstorm, things heated up in the gym at DeSales and one couldn’t help but wonder if a win at the buzzer could happen a third time for D-W. The Irish took advantage of some cold shooting by Dayton-Waitsburg in the third quarter and stretched what would be their biggest lead to eight points at 32-24 on a bucket by Jack Lesko.

D-W would triple its third quarter output with 24 points. Senior Tavyen Seney exploded offensively for 13 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter in his final high school basketball game. Seney swished nothing but net four times at the line, hit an awkward bank shot, and hit a long range shot with a minute left to pull D-W to within one point at 43-42.

Freshman Monte Pettichord contributed to the comeback with a lay up and two free throws. In a season where missed free throws were a running theme, Dayton-Waitsburg made them when they counted most.

Bledsoe was the hero twice in the final minutes. He missed a three-pointer with three and a half minutes left from the corner, but hustled out and around to the free throw line and grabbed the rebound and shot it back in to make it a 38-35 contest. Junior Mason Finney gave Dayton-Waitsburg a brief one-point lead on a full court layup off a DeSales missed shot. The Irish would take back the lead with 54 seconds left on two free throws by Kay Fruci.

D-W would take back the lead on a Seney shot in the paint with 40 seconds left. Fruci would tie it at 46 with a free throw but failed to give the Irish the lead as he missed his second shot. Two more missed shots by DeSales set up a full time out with 12 seconds by D-W and then the winning shot at the buzzer by Bledsoe.

The win meant two league wins and four total victories for the season.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

D-W 11 7 7 24 49

DeSales 8 10 14 14 46

Dayton-Waitsburg (49): Seney 13, Finney 12, Pettichord 7, Bledsoe 6, Costello 4, VanBlaricom 4, Evans 2. 3-pts: 4-18, Finney 2, Bledsoe, Seney. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Finney. Turnovers: 9. Free Throws: 10-17.

DeSales (46): Hultzinger 12, Fruei 10, Lyford 10, T. Worden 7, Chase 3, J. Lesko 2, F. Worden 2. 3-pts: 3-14, Lyford 2, Fruei. Fouls: 14. Turnovers: 15. Free Throws: 11-22.