Davis' Luis Valdez, center, battles with Kamiakin's Greg Stapleton, left, Jeremy Rojas and Dane Knapp for a loose ball in the first half of their game in the Yakima Valley SunDome on Monday.   GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic

Eli Juarez scanned the final stat sheet and winced. His Davis boys team shot 28 percent from the field and got outrebounded by nearly double.

Those numbers were painful to look at, but then he allowed himself a proud smile because even on a difficult day like this his Pirates had a chance to win.

Unable to find its shooting touch on the SunDome’s big floor, Davis’ boys nonetheless fought to the end before narrowly succumbing to Kamiakin, 50-44, in Monday’s Tourneytown.com Shootout.

Davis' Javaray Elmore drives to the basket between Kamiakin's Curtis Moore, left, and Hayden Smith in the first half.   GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic

“We’ve played right with all these teams, but we just lack a little confidence at the end,” said Juarez, whose team fell to 5-9 with five of the losses by a basket or a free throw. “A person would look at these stats and think it wasn’t close. But our kids battled hard - it’s not the effort.”

The taller, half-court style Braves, who clipped Davis in overtime at home on Dec. 28, are a tough match-up for the Pirates with their size. Greg Stapleton, a 6-6 post, and Hayden Smith, a 6-3 forward, combined for 32 points and 26 rebounds. Their efforts led Kamiakin’s hefty 46-24 advantage on the boards.

To offset that, Davis needed a crisp shooting game and what it produced was 17-for-59 for 28.8 percent.

“The first time we played Davis the tempo was completely different - up and down the court the whole time,” noted Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely. “This time the pace was more to our liking. We still had trouble with their pressure, but we played great defense.”

The Pirates kept themselves in the game with its pressure and ball control. Kamiakin turned the ball over 21 times while Davis had a season-low four turnovers.

That effort allowed the Pirates to lead early in the final period and stay within a basket with less than four minutes left. But Smith converted a crucial 3-point play with 1:34 remaining and Stapleton added two clutch free throws in the final minute.

Javaray Elmore and Jordan Starr scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, but they needed 39 shots to get it. Davis’ missed shots were gobbled up by the Braves, who collected 35 defensive rebounds.

“Hayden’s game was huge for us,” Meneely said. “Not only did he score well and get 14 rebounds, but he chased Starr all over the court. Starr’s the top scorer in the league so Hayden carried a big load today.”

Davis returns to league play Friday at Pasco.

“It was a tough day, but to our kids’ credit we still had a chance at the end,” Juarez added. “It’s just a few little things and we can start winning some of these close ones.”