By SCOTT NOVAK
Dowagiac Daily News

First year Dowagiac boys’ coach Danum Hunt is trying to be patient as he tries to build a foundation with a very young basketball team.

But the growing pains can be awful frustrating, just like they were Tuesday night in a 73-64 Wolverine Conference loss to visiting South Haven.

A turnover here, a bad pass there and poor shot selection at key points of the game have kept the Chieftains out of the win column on more than one occasion this season.

Dowagiac dropped to 4-13 overall with the loss to the Rams, a game that seemed to have all the elements that Hunt is trying to break his squad of.

During a stretch between the end of the first half and the first few minutes of the third quarter, Hunt and the fans on hand got to see how good the Chieftains could be.

Dowagiac turned a 12-point deficit into a four-point lead early in the third quarter.

But the Chieftains couldn’t maintain that excitement and focus for the rest of the game and South Haven slowly began to pull away and then had enough down the stretch to hold off Dowagiac.

“We’re still trying to put it all together,” Hunt said after the game. “If we’re clicking offensively then we’re not clicking defensively. If we are clicking defensively we’re not clicking offensively. And we just have got to put it all together. It’s been difficult I know, but the kids are still working hard and they are still excited about playing basketball.”
Consistency is another thing Hunt is trying to get out of his team.

Dowagiac plays well in spurts, but the focus needs to be on an entire game.

The Chieftains played well in the opening few minutes of Tuesday night game and it was tied at 11-11 late in the first quarter.

But a small Rams’ run made it 15-13 by the end of the period.

South Haven built up a 12-point advantage through the first five minutes of the second quarter only to have Dowagiac get hot on both offense and defense.

The Chieftains whittled the lead down to 34-30 by halftime.

Dowagiac opened up the third quarter on a bit of a run, but couldn’t maintain it.

South Haven wound up with a 53-42 advantage by the end of the frame and then held off the Chieftains as both teams turned up the offense, combining for 42 points.

“We have got to get more disciplined,” Hunt said. “Sometimes it’s not the mistake, it’s just that we have to become disciplined enough to do the things we practice every day. We have to be disciplined enough to execute what we are doing and then we will be able to claw our way back in.

“We’re working at it, but sometimes progress is a slow process,” he added.

Mike Walker led the Rams with a game-high 23 points. Isaiah Magett added 18 and Jalen Wilder added 10 points.

Tremail Butcher tied for game-high honors with 23 points. Dontel Highsmith finished with 15 points.

Dowagiac will remain at home on Friday night as it hosts Paw Paw in another Wolverine Conference contest.

SOUTH HAVEN 73
Jalen Hatter 2 2-2 6; Isaiah Magett 8 0-0 18; Josh Taylor 2 0-0 4; Josh Preston 1 2-2 4; Mike Walker 8 4-5 23; Jalen Wilder 4 2-4 10; Dylan Brooks 2 3-4 8; Quan Williams 0 0-0 0; Leon Harris 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 28 13-17 73
DOWAGIAC 64
Dontel Highsmith 6 3-5 15; Troy Butcher 0 0-0 0; Andrew Cripe 0 0-0 0; Jason Turner 1 0-0 3; Tremail Butcher 11 1-1 23; D.J. Hunt 1 0-0 2; Pierre Reed 0 0-0 0; Darius Wilson 3 0-0 6; Damone Huff 3 1-2 8; Cody Cox 2 1-1 5. TOTALS: 28 6-11 64

South Haven 15 34 53 73
Dowagiac 13 30 42 64
3-point baskets: South Haven 4 (Magett 2, Walker 1, Brooks 1), South Haven 2 (Turner 1, Huff 1). Total fouls: South Haven 14. Dowagiac 21. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: Williams (SH), Wilson (D). Varsity records: South Haven 12-5, 11-4 Wolverine; Dowagiac 4-13, 4-11 Wolverine