ELKO - The Elko boys basketball team allowed Dayton to go into halftime with hope of pulling off the road win. In the second half, the Tribe destroyed that hope.
After clinging to a three-point lead at intermission, the Indians ran away with a 63-40 win with a high-scoring second half.
"We hit the boards better," Elko coach Chris Klekas said of his team's turnaround after the break. "Overall, we made some good adjustments, and they did a good job in the second half."
The Dust Devils jumped out to an early 6-2 lead as they attacked the basket for two layups and a five-foot bucket.
The Tribe's sparkplug off the bench -Ra Shaun Marin - came into the game and ignited the offense. The senior hit a pull-up shot to tie the score at 6-all, drained a 3-pointer to give the team its first lead at 9-8, and then went to the baseline for a basket. Marin's seven quick points allowed the Indians to take an 11-10 lead at the end of the first period.
At the start of the second quarter, Dajuan Natty got an uncontested layup thanks to a pass from Anthony Painter. The next time down the court Marin drained another triple, and Marin stole the ball on Dayton's next possession and passed the ball ahead to Quinn Jonas for a layup.
The 6-0 spurt allowed the Indians to take an 18-10 lead, and it appeared they were about to pull away for good.
Dylan Taylor, however, rallied the Dust Devils with seven points during a two-minute stretch to cut the Tribe's lead to 20-17.
"We settled down in the second half," Klekas said. "We came out and were attacking the boards. We got better shots, and Austin (Brown) had some good drives. Natty had a good second half as well."
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