SALEM -- Dayton bounced back from an early 11-point deficit to roll past previously unbeaten Toledo 61-50 in a nonleague boys basketball game Monday night at Corban University.
The Pirates (15-4), ranked third in the OSAAtoday 3A coaches poll, came out slow against the Boomers (16-1), ranked third in 2A, and fell behind 21-10.
That’s when Dayton awoke and began chipping away at the lead.
“We came out thinking that we were going to be better than them,” said Dayton’s Jaysen Howard, a 6-foot-6 senior who scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half. “I thought our ego was a little too high. We came out flat, bad defense. Then when the game progressed, we stepped it up.”
Dayton senior Braeden Nowlin hit two free throws and senior Lukas Findley scored to cut the lead to 23-21. The Pirates drew even at 26-26 on a free throw by sophomore Dawson Ashley and took a 28-26 lead at half after junior Jacob Morales converted a layup.
“We got to do what we got to do to get the lead and keep it going,” Findley said. “We’re kind of use to it. Just got to pick up our energy in the locker room and get some hyped.
“When we play in Dayton, we’re super hyped in the locker room like, ‘Let’s go. We’re going to play as hard as we can.’ Today, we kind of, ‘Let’s go,’ but we weren’t super hyped about the game. We were kind of lackadaisical, so we got to keep our energy up in the locker room before we come out and play.”
Findley scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half. He made two three-pointers to spark a 9-0 run that put Dayton ahead 37-30.
Toledo senior guard Jaydn Spangler helped draw the Boomers within 46-42 early in the fourth quarter, but Pirates freshman Tyler Spink hit a three-pointer to stop the Boomers’ momentum. Dayton pushed the lead to 11 on a dunk by Howard and closed out Toledo.
“It feels great,” Howard said. “It feels a lot better than the first half, starting off slow. It felt good making some shots and getting the energy up.”
Spangler scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the first half for Toledo, which scored a season-low point total. The Boomers entered averaging a 2A-high 83.6 points.
