By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- The paint was a comfortable place to be for the Niles varsity basketball team Friday night in a 61-52 victory over Dowagiac in Big 16 Conference West Division play.
The Vikings took advantage of their height advantage, outscoring and outrebounding the Chieftains in the low post to gain their first West Division victory of the year and their third win in the last three games.
Niles is now 4-10 overall and 1-4 in the West. Dowagiac is 5-11 and 1-5.
Niles senior center John Kessick led the Vikings with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Those three combined to make 11 3-pointers for the Chieftains and together scored all but five of Dowagiac's points.
Niles, which is not known for its outside shooting, made three 3-pointers in the first half and led by as many as 10 points before Dowagiac made a late run to cut the lead to two at halftime.
One area where Niles' effort paid off in a big way was on defense. The Vikings came out playing an extended half-court man-to-man pressure defense that bothered Dowagiac's ball handlers.
While the Chieftains committed just 13 turnovers, fatigue may have played a factor down the stretch. Seniors Lonnie Jones and Dane Ford were assigned to guard Cooper, Dowagiac's leading scorer and main ball handler.
Cooper led all scorers with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Burling added 15 points, all on 3-pointers, and Moran scored 13.
Marcus Lawshea scored 11 points to go along with six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Nick Etzcorn, a sophomore post player, added 10 points off the bench.
The Niles junior varsity team beat Dowagiac 72-45. Ricky Phillips and Lavette Walker each scored 12 for the Vikings while Tom Robson and Ken Wortham added 10 points apiece. Michael DeRose led Dowagiac with 10 points.
The Niles freshmen team beat Dowagiac 66-47. Tony Horston paced the Vikings with 16 points while Jake Messner and Davius Jennings scored 11 apiece.
Niles…………61
Dowagiac….52
Niles: Karyce Pulliam 0 0-2 0, Scott Quaye 1 0-0 2, Marcus Lawshea 3 2-2 11, Dane Ford 1 0-0 2, Ivery Cross 1 0-0 2, Kelby Jemison 1 0-0 3, Stacy Caskey 1 0-0 2, Nate Parks 0 5-6 5, Lonnie Jones 1 0-0 3, Nick Etzcorn 3 4-5 10, John Kessick 8 0-1 16, Brian Ketchum 1 3-4 5. Totals: 21 14-20 61
Dowagiac: Jamere Bacon 0 0-0 0, Duane Davis 0 0-0 0, Davey Moran 5 0-2 13, Dustin Shaffer 1 0-0 2, Jeff Cooper 6 4-7 19, Rich Burling 5 0-2 15, Landon Reed 1 0-2 2, Chris Primley 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 5-15 52
Niles 15 13 15 18--61
Dowagiac 12 14 8 18--52
3-point shooting: Niles 5 (Lawshea 3, Jemison, Jones), Dowagiac 11 (Burling 5, Cooper 3, Moran 3). Team fouls (fouled out): Niles 15 (none), Dowagiac 15 (none). Team records: Niles 4-10 (1-4 Big 16 West), Dowagiac 5-11 (1-5)