By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
WHITE PIGEON -- A lack of emotion in the first half cost Dowagiac a shot at a two-game winning streak and the Sturgis Bank and Trust Holiday Basketball Classic championship Tuesday night.
Dowagiac (2-4) was outhustled by the host White Pigeon Chiefs and as a result fell, 66-47.
Dowagiac, which shot extremely well against Cassopolis on Monday night, was held to just 30 percent shooting by the Chiefs.
Still, the Chieftains managed to stay within striking distance through halftime.
Dowagiac trailed 16-7 after one period of play and 23-16 at the intermission.
White Pigeon (2-2) blitzed the Chieftains in the third quarter, outscoring Dowagiac 23-9.
The Chieftains never recovered.
At one point during the third quarter Blomgren pulled his starters. The substitutions he made picked up the tempo of the game, but too many turnovers kept Dowagiac from making a serious comeback.
Dowagiac did outscore White Pigeon by a point in the fourth quarter, but could not get any closer than 13 points.
Jeff Cooper and Davey Moran, who scored a combined 53 points against Cassopolis, were held to 15 and 10 points respectively. Both were named to the all-tournament team.
Richie Burling and Jamere Bacon both scored nine points.
White Pigeon was led by Troy Niblock's game-high 20 points. Giles Miller added 19 points and Adam Hillman 11 points.
In the consolation contest, Edwardsburg beat Cassopolis, 66-55.
The Eddies (2-2) led 15-13 after one period of play and 26-23 at the intermission.
Edwardsburg outscored the Rangers (1-3) 41-32 in the second half to secure the victory.
Nick Roth led the Eddies with 18 points. Derek Tighe added 12 points.
Cassopolis was led by Eric Brown's 13 points. Simon Ballard added 10.
White Pigeon….66
Dowagiac……….47
White Pigeon: Adam Hillman 3 5-6 11, Troy Niblock 6 7-11 20, Mike Schmeling 2 3-3 7, Ross Yoder 1 1-2 3, Giles Miller 8 2-2 19, Simon Cholometes 1 1-2 3, Dan Schutter 1 1-2 3, Ryan McFall 0 0-0 0, Louie Harrington 0 0-0 0, Lee Nihart 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 20-28 66.
Dowagiac: Jeff Cooper 3 8-8 15, Richie Burling 3 0-0 9, Landon Reed 0 2-2 2, Dustin Shaffer 0 0-0 0, Davey Moran 4 0-2 10, Duane Davis 1 0-0 2, Chris Primley 0 0-0 0, Jamere Bacon 4 0-1 9, Devon Jackson 0 0-0 0, Ed Campbell 0 0-0 0, Jesse Cox 0 0-1 0. Totals: 15 10-14 47.
White Pigeon 16 7 23 20--66
Dowagiac 7 9 9 21--46
3-point shooting: Dowagiac 7 (Burling 3, Moran 2, Bacon, Cooper), White Pigeon 2 (Niblock, Miller). Team fouls (fouled out): Dowagiac 21 (none), White Pigeon 15 (Schmeling). Team records: White Pigeon 2-2, Dowagiac 2-4