Mabton squeaks by DW

MABTON–It was a close game the whole way as the Dayton-Waitsburg boys traveled to Mabton and came up short in a 45-42 Eastern Washington Athletic Conference game last weekend.

DW is now 1-12 overall, 0-8 in league.

The boys played in Pomeroy last Tuesday and visited Touchet for a non-league matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 22, followed by a return to conference action against Liberty Christian on Friday, Jan. 24, at Richland. The Patriots come right back to Waitsburg on Jan. 29 for the season’s rubber match and Columbia Burbank Coyotes visit DW at Waitsburg on Jan. 31.

At Mabton, the D-Dubs and Cougars battled to a 15-14 outcome after the first eight minutes. Shawn Evans and Dylan Bledsoe both scored a pair of field goals to keep DW in the race, with Mason Finney scoring the first points of his team-high 13 in the first stanza.

The second quarter was nearly a bust for Dayton-Waitsburg as Josiah White accounted for the only DW field goal and the rest came from the free throw line, while the Cougars, behind a combined effort, outscored DW 11-7 for a not-insurmountable 26-21 halftime lead.

After the break, Mabton’s Andrew Zavala, who scored a game high 20, was hot with a trio of buckets and one three pointer.

Teamwork by Dayton-Waitsburg kept the team in the hunt during the third quarter with five different D-dubs sharing the scoring load. In the Fourth quarter, DW pushed to rally but fell short.

Following Finney with 13 was Dylan Bledsoe with 8 and Shawn Evans with 6. Zavala’s 20 was helped by Andy McCallum’s 11.

Mabton 45, Dayton-Waitsburg 42

DW 14 7 12 9-42

Mab 15 11 9 10-45

Dayton-Waitsburg (42) Colton VanBlaricom 5, Shawn Evans 6, Josiah White 4, Mason Finney 13, Monte Pettichord 1, Wyatt Costello 1, Dylan Bledsoe 8, Tayven Seney 4. Free throws: 10/16-62%. FG(2): 16/37-43%. FG(3): 0/6-0%.

Mabton (45) Rodrigo Preciado 3, Samuel Vasquez 2, Andy McCollum 11, Andrez Zavala 20, Alexis Galarza 6, Luis Ramirez 3. Free throws: 5/14-35%. FG(2): 11/27-41%. FG(3): 6/18-33%.