DUNSMUIR – The Dunsmuir Tiger boys basketball team ran the table at the first annual Canyon Shootout tournament last weekend. The Butte Valley Bulldogs went 2-1 to finish second. The Tigers and Bulldogs tangled in what turned out to be the deciding game on Friday at Dunsmuir Elementary school, with the Tigers prevailing, 46-41, in a thriller.

It was a see-saw contest with neither team leading by more than three points, until the final score of the game.

Bulldog Jose Avalos opened the scoring, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. A put back by Tiger Lamont Brown evened it at 2-2. Avalos scored, 4-2. A trey by Jake Mekeel gave Dunsmuir the lead 5-4. With the game tied 7-7, Avalos scored his ninth point of the quarter on a steal, putting Butte Valley up 9-7. After Dunsmuir’s Jordan Van Wilgen added a freebie, Bulldog Caleb Levesque hit a shot to give Butte Valley an 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The game continued in a similar fashion in the second quarter, with Zach Bartoo scoring off of a rebound to give Dunsmuir a 21-20 halftime lead.

The score was tied 27-27, with two minutes to go in the third quarter, when Avalos put the Bulldogs up 29-27. However, after a Collin Lattanzio free throw, back-to-back hoops by Nate Gonzales, made it 32-29 in favor of Dunsmuir going into the fourth quarter.

Avalos tied the game, 32-32, with a 3-ball to start the final frame. The squads exchanged baskets, until it was tied again at 37-37.  Jeremy Lopez gave Butte Valley its final lead of the game with a basket making it 39-37, with 3:00 remaining to play.

Three buckets in a row by Gonzales put the Tigers ahead, 43-39, with 1:15 on the clock. A hoop from Arturs Vorobjovs cut the margin to a single basket, 43-41. The Tigers finished the scoring with a free throw by Matt Norton, and a pair by Gonzales, making the final 46-41.

Nate Gonzales led the Tigers with 13 points, Matt Norton and Zach Shirley each had 6.

Bulldog Jose Avalos led all scorers with 22 points, including three 3-balls. Jeremy Lopez had nine points.

In addition to the win over Butte Valley, the Tigers defeated American Christian Academy 80-62, Elk Creek 65-29, and Providence Christian 60-35. Dunsmuir will be on the road to American Christian on Tuesday, December 15.

Butte Valley had wins over Providence 50-31 and Elk Creek 56-40. The Bulldogs host Lost River on Tuesday.