The Sparks Railroaders were the 37-30 winner over the Dayton Dust Devils when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Sparks might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Dayton an easy 69-45 win. Sparks has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
When it comes to explaining why Sparks lost on Friday, one person who can't be blamed is Jaoquin Tagulao. Despite the final result, he scored 15 points. Another player making a difference was Omar McKenzie, who scored nine points.
Dayton found their leader in underclassman Talan Brown, who scored 30 points along with nine rebounds and five assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which Brown has scored at least 25% of Dayton's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Issac Powell, who scored seven points along with eight assists and six rebounds.
Sparks has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-6 record this season. As for Dayton, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-4.
Sparks won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Churchill County at 2:30 p.m. on December 16th. The timing is sure in Churchill County's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Sparks has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season. Dayton won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Hug at 2:30 p.m. on December 16th. Hug is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.
