By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC - In a season filled with frustration, Tuesday night's 42-39 loss to visiting Berrien Springs was nearly too much to take.
The Chieftains (3-9) built up a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter and looked poised to pick up a victory.
The Shamrocks (9-2) had other ideas.
Following Mike DeRose's 3-pointer to give the Chieftains a 35-28 lead with 6:21 remaining, the Shamrocks caught fire from the outside.
Dowin Coffy cut the lead to 35-31 with a 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the contest. Ryan Little then canned a three-pointer to make it 35-34 with 4:30 left on the clock.
Dowagiac upped its lead to 37-34 on a lay-up by Amos Clark 15 ticks later.
Coffy then canned his second triple of the quarter, this one with 3:38 to play, to knot the score at 37.
Berrien Springs was able to get the ball to Coffy following a steal by Jeremy Cummings.
Cummings gave the Shamrocks the lead for good with 2:46 remaining with a thunderous dunk along the baseline.
A Matt Demler lay up with 45 seconds left on the clock upped Berrien Springs' lead to 41-37.
A pair of Chris Primley free throws with 12 seconds remaining cut the lead to 41-39.
Dowagiac quickly fouled Coffy on the inbounds pass and he missed the front end of the one-and-one.
Unfortunately for the Chieftains Matthew Jasper grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with nine ticks left on the clock.
Jasper made the first charity stripe toss, but missed on the second to keep the Chieftains' chances alive.
DeRose grabbed the rebound and the Chieftains called a time out with 7.7 seconds showing on the clock.
Dowagiac usually runs a set play in that situation, however, Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren decided to go a different route.
It did not work out well for the Chieftains.
Blomgren took Primley out of the game and inserted another outside shooter. The Chieftains seemed out of sync and as a result did not get a shot off as Kolby Wood blocked DeRose as time expired.
The game was tight throughout with neither team gaining much of a momentum surge.
The Shamrocks led 11-9 after one period of play and 18-15 at the intermission.
The Chieftains outscored the Shamrocks 14-8 in the third quarter to grab a 29-26 advantage.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Blomgren and the Chieftains, but he was able to find some positives.
The Shamrocks shot 40 percent for the game compared to 31 percent for the Chieftains from the field.
Neither team shot the ball well from the free throw line. Dowagiac was 7-of-14, while Berrien Springs was just 2-of-10.
Dowagiac also dominated the backboards as it outrebounded Berrien Springs, 40-27.
Primley and Clark both scored 11 points to lead the Chieftains offensively. Primley also grabbed 12 rebounds.
DeRose finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Coffy was the lone Berrien Springs player to reach double figures as he scored a game-high 12 points.
The Chieftains are back in action on Friday as they travel to Mattawan for a Big 16 Conference non-divisional contest.
The Wildcats are the Central Division leader.
BERRIEN SPRINGS 42
Ryan Little 3 0-0 7, Matt Demler 2 1-3 6, Shelby Wood 1 0-0 2, Dowin Coffy 5 0-1 12, Jeremy Cummings 4 0-0 8, Matthew Jasper 2 1-4 5, Randolph Shaw 0 0-2 0, Robert Walker 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 2-10 42
DOWAGIAC 39
Jamere Bacon 0 0-0 0, Andrew Cuthbert 0 0-0 0,
Jamie Simpson 2 0-0 5, Mike DeRose 3 2-4 10, Chris Primley 3 5-7 11, David Stuppy 0 0-0 0, Shawn Irvin 1 0-1 2, Oscar Wilson 0 0-0 0, Amos Clark 5 0-0 11, D.J. Edgerly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 7-14 39
Berrien Springs 11 18 26 42
Dowagiac 9 15 29 39
Three-point baskets: Little (BS), Demler (BS), Coffy (BS) 2, Simpson (D), DeRose (D) 2, Clark (D). Total fouls: Berrien Springs 16, Dowagiac 17. Fouled out: Cummings (BS). Technical fouls: None. Varsity records: Berrien Springs 9-2, Dowagiac 3-9