By ROBERT S. MERRILL
Assistant editor
DAYTON – The West Side Pirates punched their own ticket Tuesday night to the state 2A basketball playoffs next week with a fourth quarter surge that gave them a 45-39 victory over rival Soda Springs.
Last night’s win came just one day after a double overtime victory against the Cardinals in Soda Springs.
After trailing by seven points in the third quarter, Pirate seniors stepped up their game in the fourth and slowly built a six-point lead. West Side seniors Mason Lemmon and Jaxon Smart put up 10 points each in a balanced attack.
Having a nearly packed house and a home-court advantage didn’t hurt the Pirate effort.
West Side will play the second-place team from the Third District next Thursday in Boise in the first round of the state tournament. They will play either North Star Charter or New Plymouth.
