The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA - Dayton brought plenty of spirit, plenty of fans and plenty of energy to George Ball Court on Saturday night, but they didn't bring enough net to carry them on to state.

The Bulldogs put up a good fight against the Asotin Panthers in the final game of the Southeast 2B District 9 boys basketball championship at Whitman College, but Asotin took the 60-53 victory and ended Dayton's 10-11 basketball season.

"Asotin just got an early jump on us, and we weren't able to come back quickly enough," Dayton junior Garett Turner said. "We ran out of time."

Tension was high and cheers from the Bulldog fans in the stands were loud, but Asotin hit the hoops hard right from the start, and Dayton just couldn't catch up.

In the first minute and a quarter of the game, Asotin's Ben Servatius put in two lay-ups, bringing the Panthers up 4-0. Dayton junior Kroft Sunderland tried several times for the goal but his shots continued to come just short of putting the Bulldogs on the board. Servatius shot a trey and Dayton called for a time out to regroup and rally the troops.

Asotin's Drew Heitstuman quickly scored another two points before Turner scored his team's first points of the night with a crowd-pleasing three-pointer, putting the score at 10-3.

Panther Josh Trimmell answered with one of his signature treys. Turner squeezed in a few more shots with Asotin quickly replying. By the end of the first quarter, Asotin was up 13 points at 20-7. The Panthers shot 53 percent (8 for 15) in the period.

For the remainder of the game, the Bulldogs shot better or equal to the Panthers but couldn't make up for Asotin's quick jump at the start.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs had trouble controlling the ball. Several passes were incomplete and some were fumbled down the court. Turner scored a trey, bringing the score to 20-10.

Hayden Fullerton was fouled and scored one point from the line. Sunderland grabbed the rebound and put another two points on the board for Dayton. Then Bulldogs junior Joey Schlachter scored two points, putting the score at 22-15 midway through the quarter.

Asotin's offense just kept coming, with two more treys. Schlachter helped the Bulldogs keep pace one point at a time with two sets of successful free throws.

Following another Servatius trey, Turner shot two field goals and made two successful free throws, putting the halftime score at 34-23 in Asotin's favor.

Dayton junior Colton Bickelhaupt scored the first points of the third quarter, setting the tone for a second half that thrilled Dayton fans despite ending in disappointment.

Senior Dain Henderson tried for a shot but Asotin's Servatius stole the ball, headed down to Panther territory and made his shot, bringing his team up 11 points.

A few minutes later Henderson redeemed himself with a two-point shot closing the distance back into the single digits.

Servatius, however, quickly turned the tables again, sneaking in another twopoint layup.

Sunderland, trying for a shot, landed flat on his back under the basket and was subbed amid applaud and cheers from the crowd.

As the third quarter clock quickly ran out, Schlachter and then Fullerton each scored. Servatius missed a shot but his teammate Trimmell scored on the rebound.

Bulldogs head coach Roy Ramirez called for a timeout to pump up his team, who were showing signs of frustration and disappointment as the fourth quarter drew near and Dayton was still unable to close the gap with Asotin.

With just 12 seconds to go in the quarter, Sophomore Wyatt Frame seemed to come out of nowhere. He stole the ball amid whoops and cheers from Bulldog fans and headed down the court. He was fouled at the basket and failed to score on his free throw shots, but his enthusiasm drew support from the rest of his team.

In the remaining seconds, Fullerton managed another steal from the Panthers, and Turner got in a two-point layup just as the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter with Asotin still up 44-33.

Bulldog fans stood to cheer for their team as the men gathered for their final push in the fourth quarter.

The final quarter again started with a trey from Turner, bringing the Bulldogs to within eight. Dayton's defense tightened down hard on Asotin's Servatius, who threw the ball nearly the length of the court to teammate Nate Dalton, who scored and brought the score to 46-36.

Following a successful free throw by Asotin's Heitstuman, Bickelhaupt shot a trey that sent fans into a near frenzy and put smiles of enthusiasm back on the men's faces.

The Bulldogs boosters became so caught up in the excitement, in fact, that a tough call against Dayton by one of the referees drew loud "Boos" from the stands. Coach Ramirez had to shout across the court for them to stop, in fear that their display would being penalties to the team.

In what remained of the tournament game, Dayton scored 20 points, drawing on Turner (who scored 27 points Saturday night), Kroft, Frame and Henderson.

But Asotin answered right back with shots from Servatius (top scorer of the night with 29 points), Dalton and a Heitstuman trey.

Asotin shot 44 percent from the floor (22 for 50) compared with Dayton's 39 percent (21 of 54).

The Panthers now go on as the district's No. 2 seed to a Class 2B regional tournament in Wenatchee this weekend.

Dayton's season is over, but hopes are high for next year. The team's core group of players will return next year, Ramirez said.

"Overall, we had a winning season," Turner said. "We played one of the better seasons we've had around here for quite a while. Next year will be great."

Dayton vs. Asotin (Feb. 19)

53-60

Dayton 7 16 10 20 53

Asotin 20 14 10 16 60

Dayton (53): Wyatt Frame 2, Colton Bickelhaupt 5, Joey Schlachter 7, Dain Henderson 4, Hayden Fullerton 3, Garett Turner 27, Kroft Sunderland 4,