By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
Niles was able to pull off a hard fought win against visiting Dowagiac Tuesday night in a Big 16 Conference West Division match-up, 71-58.
With four of Niles' players out, the Vikings only dressed eight players, bringing one up from junior varsity.
In the first two minutes of the game the teams were tied at three, but Niles quickly went ahead when Thomas Robson hit his first of six 3-pointers for the night.
Nate Parks added another two points for the Vikings on the next play to give them the 8-3 lead.
Robson gave the Vikings another 3-pointer 4:40 into the first quarter. Dowagiac's Isaiah Jones gave the Chieftains their first 3-pointer of the night putting them back on the board.
Dowagiac (1-9 overall, 0-4 West Division) got into early foul trouble, putting Niles in the bonus with 2:37 left in the quarter. The Vikings ended the first up 25-12.
The Vikings entered the second quarter with what they thought was a comfortable lead, but that quickly changed.
Niles was having trouble getting shots both inside and outside. Niles also had big problems grabbing rebounds and made quite a few turnovers.
With Niles having problems with their inside game, it had no choice but to go outside, but still had trouble sinking shots.
Niles picked up its first point of the second quarter when Pete Brandstatter went 1-2 on the foul line.
With Niles having trouble on both ends of the court, Dowagiac was able to score some much needed points and cut the lead to three. Niles was finally able to hit a 3-pointer with 2:33 left in the quarter.
The teams were tied at 34 going into halftime.
Niles was outrebounded 21-14 in the first half. The Chieftains only allowed the Vikings to score nine points, while they were able to pour in 22.
Niles knew it had to start getting shots in or it would be trouble. It started the third quarter doing just that.
Robson gave the Vikings two 3-pointers while Nate Parks added a 3-pointer and two points in the first two minutes of the quarter to put Niles back in the game a give them a nice gap.
Dowagiac's Amos Clark quickly responded with a 3-pointer for the Chieftains bringing them back within single digits.
Thomas and Dan Rodts also added 3-pointers for the Vikings in the third giving them a 54-49 lead heading into the last quarter.
Niles had some early foul trouble in the fourth, putting Dowagiac on the line four times in the first three minutes of the quarter. Dowagiac made 5-of-8 shots from the line, bringing it back within reach of taking the lead.
The Vikings were tired in the fourth, but they were able to get some shots in and still played hard. They hung on to the lead all of the fourth and were able to claim the victory.
Nate Parks had a career-high 22 points for the Vikings.
Niles' junior team was also able to pull off a win against Dowagiac, 80-55.
Josh Beers had 19 points for Niles. John Gipson had 13 points and Matt Peters added 14 points for the Vikings.
Andrew Cuthbert had 14 points for Dowagiac, while D.J. Edgerly added 13 points.
The Vikings will travel to Lakeview on Friday. Dowagiac travels to Portage Northern. Both are Big 16 Conference non-divisional contests.