Dalton boys win nailbiters vs. Huskies, Indians

PHOTOS BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography

Dalton’s Ezra Miller and Adam Bidlack against Northwestern Jan. 24 at home.
By Ariel Stahler
Gazette & News sports writer

The games were close, but Dalton High School’s boys varsity basketball team emerged on the right side of its games against Northwestern and Rittman. The Dawgs improved their overall record to 13-4 and their WCAL record to 7-3.
Dalton hosted Northwestern Jan. 24. It was a dogfight, but the Bulldogs took down the Huskies 54-49. Jalen Wenger recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Adam Bidlack scored 10 points and dished seven assists. Chance Green added nine points in the win.
Joey Dalessandro, Tyler Baer and Liam Riggenbach all scored six points each. Jaiden Malone contributed five points.
Dalton’s head coach Kaleb Reed said this was one of his team’s top games of the season.
“The kids played one of their best games of the season defensively,” he said. “They held the top-scoring team in the league to 49 points. I am very proud of how the team continues to battle and fight through adversity game in and game out.”
Even though Reed graduated from Northwestern and coached the Huskies previously, it did not have an impact on him during the game.
“I don’t view this game as a big game because I graduated from Northwestern,” he said. “I view it as a big game because they are the best team in our league. They are at the top and
that’s where we want to be, so we knew we needed to knock them off in order to accomplish our goals.”
The Dawgs squeezed past Rittman Jan. 25 at home. Dalton won the nail biter 41-40. Bidlack was the leading scorer with 11 points. Wenger added eight points. Dalessandro put up six points and Green scored five points. Dillon Horst, Malone and Riggenbach combined for five points. Ezra Miller had four points. Baer grabbed five boards and scored one point.
Follow Ariel on Twitter @AStahlerDGKNews