By By SCOTT NOVAK / Vigilant/Argus
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
The visiting Cassopolis Rangers avenged a 73-51 loss to the Dowagiac Chieftains Tuesday night with a 53-50 non-conference victory.
The Rangers, who have won four out of five games since losing to Dowagiac in the White Pigeon holiday tournament, made their free throws when they counted in the fourth quarter.
The win was the fourth straight for Cassopolis, which will be looking for revenge again on Friday night when it takes on Edwardsburg in a Lakeland Conference clash.
The loss snapped Dowagiac's two-game winning streak.
Cassopolis coach Floyd Foston said following a 66-55 loss to Edwardsburg in the consolation contest at White Pigeon that things would turn around for the Rangers once they started playing better defense.
Tuesday night he was pleased with the effort his squad gave him and the effort they have been giving him since that contest.
Neither team was able to muster much of a lead. Perhaps 46 fouls had a lot to do with the flow of the contest.
But when it counted, the Rangers stepped to the line and held off Dowagiac in the fourth quarter.
Cassopolis (5-3) connected on 12-of-18 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. The Rangers were just 4-of-12 in the opening three quarters of play.
Dowagiac (4-6) on the other hand couldn't make a basket, either from the field or the charity stripe.
The Chieftains shot just 13-of-30 for the game and was 23-of-33 from the free throw line.
Cassopolis didn't shoot well from the field either, hitting just 17-of-47 attempts.
The difference, however, was Cassopolis held a 31-23 advantage in rebounding, including a 17-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.
In a game that featured 11 ties and nine lead changes, Eric Brown's short jumper with 1:03 remaining broke a 46-all tie.
The Rangers used a basket by Simon Ballard with 36.4 seconds remaining to open up a 50-46 advantage, however, the game was far from over.
Leading 51-47 following a free throw by Will Loux with 18.5 seconds remaining, Dowagiac had several opportunities from the free throw line to force a tie or win the game.
The Rangers led at every break. Cassopolis led 10-9 after one period of play, 21-17 at halftime and 35-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
Jeff Cooper led Dowagiac with 22 points, while Davey Moran finished with 11 points.
Brown led the Rangers with 16 points, while Ballard finished with 11 and Danzy nine.
CASSOPOLIS 53
Simon Ballard 4 3-4 12, Will Loux 2 4-7 8, Dan Stanage 1 2-5 4, Eric Brown 6 3-6 16, Ashton Danzy 3 2-2 9, Mike Glenn 0 0-0 0, J.T. Lee 1 2-4 4, Garrit Hemme 0 0-0 0, Mike Evans 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 16-28 53.
DOWAGIAC 50
Davey Moran 3 4-5 11, Dustin Shaffer 1 0-0 2, Jeff Cooper 7 8-13 22, Landon Reed 1 2-2 4, Richie Burling 0 2-5 2, Duane Davis 0 0-0 0, Jamere Bacon 1 4-4 6, Ed Campbell 0 0-0 0, Chris Primley 0 3-4 3. Totals: 13 23-33 50.
Cassopolis 10 11 14 18 -- 53
Dowagiac 10 11 14 18 -- 50
Three-point baskets: Cassopolis 3 (Danzy 1, Ballard 1, Brown 1), Dowagiac 1 (Moran 1). Total fouls: Cassopolis 22 (Danzy), Dowagiac 24. Fouled out: Danzy (C).
River Valley…39
Cassopolis…47
On Friday night the Rangers won their third straight contest, defeating visiting River Valley, 47-39, in Lakeland Conference play.
The win gave the Rangers a 3-1 record in the league, a half game out of first place.
Eric Brown led the Rangers with 12 points, while Simon Ballard added 10 points.
River Valley was led by Danny Baker's 11 points.
The Rangers junior varsity defeated River Valley, 59-32.
John Young and Neal Bullocks lead the Rangers with 14 points each. Young also grabbed six rebounds, while E.J. Harris snared five.
RIVER VALLEY 39
Jason Schaeffer 0 1-2 1, Jeremy Schaeffer 1 0-0 3, James White 2 1-3 7, Caleb Dryden 1 1-2 4, Keith Zabel 0 0-0 0, Kevin Zabel 1 0-0 3, Danny Baker 5 1-2 11, Steve Terry 2 2-4 7, Jeremy Bates 0 0-0 0, Jake Kauffman 1 1-1 3. Totals: 13 7-14 39.
CASSOPOLIS 47
Simon Ballard 3 2-2 10, Mike Glenn 0 2-4 2, J.T. Lee 3 0-0 6, Ashton Danzy 2 0-0 6, Eric Brown 4 3-5 12, Garrit Hemme 0 0-0 0, Justin Lee 0 0-0 0, Mike Evans 0 0-0 0, Will Loux 0 4-4 4, Dan Stanage 2 3-4 7. Totals: 14 14-19 47.
River Valley 12 10 7 10 -- 39
Cassopolis 8 8 17 14 -- 47
Three-point baskets: Cass 5 (Danzy 2, Ballard 2, Brown), River Valley 6 (White 2, Terry, Kevin Zabel, Jeremy Schaeffer). Total fouls: River Valley 16 (Terry), Cass 17. Fouled out: Terry (RV), J.T. Lee (C). Records: Cass 4-3 (3-1 Lakeland Conference), River Valley 6-3 (1-4).