The Sparks boys hoop team erased a slim two-point deficit at halftime to stay undefeated in 3A North League play by winning at Dayton Friday night, 59-51.

Sparks boys basketball coach Dick Lee said Henry Banks and Erik Garcia both stood out for the team. He believed they both had double digits in rebounds and the twosome helped bring the ball up the court against the DHS full-court pressure.

Cutting down the turnovers and getting some easy buckets against the Dust Devils’ full-court press was the key to the Railroaders’ success in the second half.

“It was difficult. It was much more difficult than last time. They were a lot better prepared,” Lee said of Dayton.

The Maroon and Gold was up by four after the third period and doubled that gap by the end of the game.

Andrew Garcia led Sparks with 17 points, while Angel Guillen added 16 and Banks had 12. Andrew Garcia’s big night was a big bonus for the SHS crew.

“It was really nice to get that on the road. He has a renewed confidence from his success during the soccer season,” Lee said.

Sparks (11-7, 8-0 3A North) is back on the road Monday at Truckee in a game that was postponed from last week.

- Elko 66, Reed 58 -

The Raiders didn’t enjoy the same fortune when they traveled outside of Washoe County Friday.

In a seesaw battle, neither team held a lead bigger than eight points, but it was the Indians who came away with the much-needed win to stay alive in the High Desert League playoff hunt.

“That’s the closest we’ve played to a full 32 minutes,” Elko boys basketball coach Chris Klekas said. “(Reed’s) a good team. They play hard.”

Reed jumped out to a 13-8 lead thanks to 3-pointers by Aaron Greenblat and Yuriy Ikovlev in succession.

The Raiders could not hold off Elko in eastern Nevada though as the hosts took a 28-27 cushion into the locker room. That gap grew to 48-44 after three quarters of action.

A trey by Mike Powell made it a 57-54 game, but Elko was nearly perfect from the free-throw line in the final 2:23 of the game when the Blue and Gold was forced to foul. The Indians made 9 of 10 foul shots in that span to seal the outcome and break a five-game losing skid.

Powell led Reed with 19 points, while Greenblat had 16.

Austin Brown led all scorers with 23 points, while Ra Shaun Marin finished with 18 points and Anthony Painter chipped in with 12.

The loss drops Reed to 2-15 overall and 1-8 in league play.