The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - The Bulldogs were cautiously optimistic Friday evening after defeating both Walla Walla Valley Academy teams on Thursday - including a much-needed victory for the Lady Bulldogs - but their high spirits weren't enough to earn them a win against the tough Asotin Panthers.

Though Dayton's young men and women went head to head on their own court against Asotin, the Panthers were victorious on both counts, at 50-64 against the men and 51-63 against the ladies.

In the men's match, the Panthers were first on the scoreboard, with senior Ben Servatius shooting three baskets followed by two quick treys by junior Josh Trimmell. Before three minutes of regulation ball had passed, Asotin was up 16-0.

Finally, as the rough and tumble bout that made the first quarter of the men's game seem more like an evening on the football field progressed, Dayton made it onto the board with two sets of successful free-throw shots by junior Garett Turner.

After Turner broke the ice, junior Kroft Sunderland landed the team's first field goal of the night, brining the score to 6-18.

Asotin squeezed in another three points while Dayton struggled for control of the ball, tumbling with the Panthers in a succession of fouls and loss-of-ball mishaps, which brought the teams into the second quarter at 6-21, with Asotin up 15 points.

In the second quarter, Sunderland - who celebrated his 17th birthday Friday - made the Bulldogs' next two buckets, bringing the score to 10-23.

Turner missed his next free throw, but junior Joey Schlachter scored two points on the rebound.

The Bulldogs pushed hard to even up the scores in the second quarter, but Asotin's Trimmell showed off his long-shot again, scoring a third trey and bringing the score to 12-26 in his team's favor.

At this point in the game, Turner snatched the ball on Panther territory and dashed with it down the court, in a move duplicated by other Bulldog athletes during the night as Asotin showed its skill in targeting and putting Dayton's offensive players out of commission.

In the rare moments when Turner and his teammates could pull off a "snatch and dash," they continued to edge forward on the Panthers, showing the enthusiastic fans some of the Bulldogs' famous layups.

Turner, closely guarded, managed another snatch and dash before the half, bringing the score up to 16- 29, with the Bulldogs still trailing.

Junior Hayden Fullerton took up Turner's torch and did a snatch and dash of his own, putting the Bulldogs just 11 points from the lead, followed by another two points by Turner in the last few seconds of the quarter.

At the half, Asotin led Dayton 30-20. The Bulldogs had scored 14 to Asotin's nine points in the second quarter, but it wasn't enough to reverse the Panthers' big lead from the first.

The second half found the Bulldogs down 10 at the start of the third and down nine at the start of the fourth. The Bulldogs made a run on Asotin and were within four, but the Panthers' Servatius began an assault that netted him 10 of Asotin's 20 fourthquarter points.

The Bulldogs, behind Turner's nine-point fourth quarter, could only muster an additional six points. Dayton shot the ball 18 for 51 and Asotin shot 20 for 50.

Lead scorers against Asotin were Fullerton at 10, Turner at 24, and Kroft Sunderland at 12.

The Bulldogs took an easy win against WWVA on Thursday, defeating the College Place team 57-34. Lead scorers during that bout were Dain Henderson with 10, Turner with 10, and Sunderland with 14.

The women's game against Asotin on Friday finished closer than the men's, with Dayton just 11 points from a victory, but the taller, more physical Lady Panthers pushed their height and age advantage to the max throughout the game.

The Lady Bulldogs came out flat in the first quarter, shooting just 17 percent - though Asotin's 5-foot- 11 junior JaLisa Jose was fouled out and spent the last part of the quarter on the bench.

"We just couldn't make the shots, and that really hurt us," Bulldogs head coach Scott Hudson said. "Oh my gosh, that first quarter was horrible. If we'd played in the first quarter like we did in the fourth, it would have been a whole different game."

After the half, the women's action got hot. The Panthers played catch and miss with the ball below the net, trying to make baskets and missing, finally getting it in to keep just ahead of the Bulldogs. Nicole Lambert scored an exciting 3-pointer making the game 33-42 going into the fourth.

The ladies matched Asotin point for point in the fourth, with McKayla Bickelhaupt making a trey in the last 26 seconds of the game, but Asotin still came out on top.

"It was a close game all the way through," Hudson said. "The girls are working hard. I'm so proud of them. It's just a matter of time before we put everything together, and I think they'll do that before the season's over."

The Lady Bulldogs are now 3-6 in the league, after beating WWVA for a second time on Thursday, 57-34, and defeating Tri-Cities Prep last week.

Dayton plays Liberty Christian on Friday at home and not again until the following Friday.

"Liberty Christian will be a big game for us," Hudson said. "They're right above us in the standings."

Bulldogs Men

Dayton vs. WWVA (Jan. 27) 57-34

Dayton 12 10 25 10 57 WWVA86101034

Dayton (57): Wyatt Frame 4, Jason Norris 4, Colton Bickelhaupt 5, Joey Schlachter 2, Dain Henderson 10, Hayden Fullerton 2, Seth Jackson 3, Garett Turner 10, Blake Powell 3, Kroft Sunderland 14.

Dayton's Hayden Fullerton takes a running jump as he shoots for the basket Friday night against Asotin at home.

Dayton vs. Asotin (Jan. 28) 50-64

Dayton 6 14 15 15 50 Asotin 21 9 14 20 64

Dayton (50): Wyatt Frame 2, Joey Schlachter 2, Hayden Fullerton 10, Garett Turner 24, Kroft Sunderland 12.

Lady Bulldogs

Dayton vs. WWVA (Jan. 27) 45-41

Dayton 8 11 5 21 45 WWVA 12 10 12 7 41

Dayton (45): Jessica Tate 4, Courtney Fuller 8, Samura Miller 5, McKayla Bickelhaupt 13, Nicole Lambert 9, Shelby Smith 3, Malia Frame 3.

Dayton vs. Asotin (Jan. 28) 51-62

Dayton 8 13 12 18 51 Asotin 10 16 17 19 62

Dayton (51): Jessica Tate 5, Courtney Fuller 9, McKayla Bickelhaupt 11, Nicole Lambert 18, Shelby Smith 5, Darci Hall 2, Malia Frame 1.