Dawgs bounce back after tough loss

Dalton’s Jack Steiner Dec. 15 against Lutheran East. (PHOTOS BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography)

Dalton’s Jalen Wenger at Dec. 18 game against Chippewa.

Dalton’s Jaiden Malone swats the ball Dec. 18 against Chippewa.

Dalton’s Jaden Schlabach 

By ARIEL STAHLER
Gazette & News sports writer

Dalton High School’s varsity boys basketball team suffered a hard loss to Lutheran East, but they bounced back to win big over Chippewa. They finished off the week with a loss to Massillon. The Dawgs have an overall record of 2-2 and they are 2-0 against WCAL teams.

Dalton suffered a tough home defeat to Lutheran East, 88-57, on Dec. 15. Jalen Wenger carried the Dawgs with 27 points. Dillon Horst and Jack Steiner both scored six points. Braylon Wenger had five points. Liam Riggenbach scored four points and grabbed six rebounds. Owen Beatty and Jaden Schlabach combined for four points. Jaiden Malone dished out six assists.

The Dawgs did not stay down for long. They came ready for their Dec. 18 home game against Chippewa and swiftly took down the Chipps 85-53. Jalen Wenger had a huge game by scoring 34 points. Braylon Wenger added 20 points in the win. Ezra Miller contributed 12 points.

Malone finished with seven points and five assists. Steiner pulled seven boards and scored four points. Schlabach and Riggenbach both scored three points and Riggenbach grabbed six rebounds. Beatty added two points.

Dalton visited Massillon on Dec. 19, but the Tigers came away with the 52-49 victory.

Jaden Wenger totaled 25 points and five rebounds in the loss. Miller scored eight points, while Steiner put up six points. Braylon Wenger contributed four points. Horst put up three points. Riggenbach ended with three points and five rebounds. Malone passed three assists.

Dalton’s head coach Kaleb Reed summarized how his team performed in the week.

“The kids did an excellent job of learning from the mistakes made in our game against Lutheran East,” he said. “The team did a much better job defensively against Chippewa and Massillon. In our game Friday night versus Chippewa, the boys were hitting on all cylinders offensively, spreading the ball around.”

JV and varsity boys have a game scheduled at 5:30 p.m. today at Norwayne, according to daltonlocal.org.

The next home game is against Smithville at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 29.

Follow Ariel on Twitter @AStahlerDGKNews

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