Dayton survives Yamhill-Carlton comeback and more..
Head Coach Ron Hopp
Dayton hangs on to defeat Yamhill-Carlton 70-66. First half, it was all Dayton lead by junior Tyler Spinks, who finished with 18 points to take a 39-24 lead at halftime. Third quarter, it was pretty much the same with Spinks and Morales scoring 8 points a piece. In the fourth quarter, the unthinkable almost happened.
As you can see in the picture above, Dayton lead YC by 24 points and thats when Sophomore Moroni Seely Roberts literally took over the game. Moroni scored an "unofficial" 24 points in the fourth quarter to bring his team back with in 3 at 66-63 with 53 seconds left in the game. Dayton hits some clutch free throws, some missed opportunities by YC and the game ended 70-66.
YC- Moroni Seely-Roberts finished with 37 points
Dayton-Tyler Spink with 30 points
Three things I learned tonight:
1. 6'5 sophomore Mornoi Seely- Roberts is currently the best player in 3A after this performance. Josh Wart (Amity) and Josh Baugher (Santiam Christian) are up there but Mornoi took it to another level tonight. He is currently averaging 30+ points a night.
2. With Dayton win, this put Dayton in the driver seat as the #1 seed out of the PacWest because they beat both Amity and YC. Next week is crucial because Amity plays both Dayton and YC. The race to #1 is far from over and will go down to the final buzzer in this league. What happens if its a tie??
3. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION! After watching Dayton pull off the upset and knowing they beat Amity already, then I personally think the Elite 8 will feature three PacWest teams. No matter what place they finish in league. Let me be clear, I dont have a vote or say on the Elite 8 but thats how I see it. It will be the 6 league champs and two additional PacWest teams in it. Anything can happen with the voting but this is my gut feeling.
Game to Watch
Monday- De La Salle @ Westside Christian
The winner of this game will have sole possession of the #1 seed.
Tuesday- Keep an eye on the Far West League. Its a close race between WIllamina and Warrenton for #1 seed
Wednesday- All eyes are on YC @ Amity
Willamina @ Warrenton (this game could be for the #1 seed)
Thursday- Cascade Christian @ Sutherlin
Friday- Amity @ Dayton
Yoda Ranking (As of today)
1 Dayton
2 AMity
3 Yamhill- Carlton
4 De La Salle
5 Cascade Christian
6 Santiam Christian
7 Westside Christian
8 Portland Adventist
9 Vale
10 Warrenton
11 Willamina
12 St. Mary's
13 Nyssa
14 Sutherlin
15 Pleasant Hill
16 Harrisburg/Douglas/Creswell