Coming into the 2014-15 season, Dowagiac junior Harry Reed may have not gotten a lot of notice from opponents.

The 5-foot-11 junior may have been lost in the background as his teammates captured headlines and attention with their play.

In the Chieftains’ season opener against Cassopolis Tuesday night, Reed stepped out of the shadows in a big way.

Against the Rangers, Reed went 9-of-11 from 3-point range and scored a career and game-high 31 points as Dowagiac rolled to a 98-73 victory over Cassopolis.

Reed hit six of those triples in a 20-point first quarter. He did not attempt a shot in the second quarter, but connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter to account for all 31 of his points.

While the Rangers and the fans in the stands were surprised by Reed’s offensive outburst, Chieftain coach Danum Hunt and Reed himself were not.

“I was just feeling it,” Reed said following the game. “My shot has been feeling like that for the past week. I just try to stay within the offense. But I felt like I couldn’t miss tonight.”

Hunt said that Reed spent the entire summer working on his shooting and it has paid off in a big way.

“Harry is a great shooter,” he said. “He’s worked the entire offseason on his shot. During the summer I gave him the green light. He’s just a pure shooter.

“During the summer we’d go play and he’d have five, six or seven threes every game. He’s got the green light any time he’s open, he can put it up. I want him to learn that there’s no shot that he doesn’t like. I’m expecting him to do big things this year shooting the ball.”

Reed’s outside shooting fits in well with Dowagiac’s offensive game plan and it could pay even bigger dividends if the Chieftains decide to pound the ball inside.

As a team, Dowagiac had 14 3-pointers against Cassopolis. Overall, the Chieftains shot 52 percent (37-of-71) from the field.

Dowagiac will open up its road and Wolverine Conference West Division schedule tonight at Coloma.

The girls face the Comets at 6 p.m. with the boys game scheduled to begin at approximately 7:15 p.m.