By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Visiting Sturgis avenged a loss at the hands of Dowagiac Friday night by working a little overtime.
The Trojans, 51-47 who were upset by Dowagiac 10 days ago, outscored the Chieftains 7-6 in overtime to come away with a 43-42 Big 16 Conference Challenge Game victory.
Sturgis' Raju Armster hit one of two free throws with one second remaining in overtime to give the Trojans the victory.
Armster missed the second free throw attempt, however, Dowagiac was unable to do anything more than heave the ball toward its own basket as time expired.
Dowagiac (2-18) trailed 12-0 to start the game, but slowly worked its way back into the contest and eventually tied the game at 36 with 10 seconds remaining in regulation on a three-pointer by Michael DeRose.
The Chieftains trailed 36-33 following a free throw by Zach Gentile with 21 seconds remaining. Gentile missed his second free throw attempt which left the door open for Dowagiac.
DeRose grabbed the rebound and eventually took a pass from Jamere Bacon which led to the game-tying triple.
Despite the quick start, Sturgis only led 15-9 after one period of play as Dowagiac outscored the Trojans 9-3 in the final four and a half minutes of the opening quarter.
Neither team played well in the second and third quarters as the combined for nine points in the second period and 13 points in the third quarter.
Dowagiac outscored Sturgis 17-9 in the fourth quarter to force the extra session.
Armster finished with 10 points to lead the Trojans, who also got nine points from Bo Felt and eight points from Patrick Hall.
Bacon and DeRose each scored a game-high 11 points, while Chris Primley finished with nine points.
Dowagiac will host Coloma in a rematch of the 2004 district tournament on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m. Tonight, Lakeshore and Niles open up the tournament at 7.
JV basketball
The Dowagiac junior varsity basketball team finished its season with a 43-37 loss to visiting Sturgis Friday night.
After both teams scored six points in the opening eight minutes, Sturgis jumped out to a 16-11 halftime lead, which it extended to 28-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Dowagiac outscored the Trojans 18-15 in the final stanza, but could not overcome the third quarter deficit.
D.J. Edgerly led Dowagiac with 14 points.
The Chieftains also got 12 points from Andrew Cuthbert and five points from Pat Brosnan.