By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
PAW PAW – The goal was simple for the Dowagiac varsity basketball team in its game against host Paw Paw on Friday night.
The Chieftains, who are at the top of the Wolverine Conference, needed to take care of business against the Redskins, who are at the bottom of the league.
Dowagiac (8-2, 7-1 Wolverine) rolled into town and outscored Paw Paw 24-9 in the opening quarter en route to a 68-35 victory.
The Chieftains jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the Redskins as senior Chris Primley scored six points in the first three and a half minutes of the game.
Paw Paw's Chad Williams canned a 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining in the opening quarter to put the Redskins on the board.
Paw Paw closed the gap to 13-7 with three minutes to play in the first period on another Williams jumper before the Chieftains dialed it up defensively and outscored the Redskins 11-2 over the final three minutes.
Dowagiac continued to force turnovers in the second quarter with its full-court pressure.
The Chieftains increased their lead to 45-17 as they headed into the locker room at halftime.
"I think the most important thing was the start," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "We talked to the kids about just getting out there, forgetting about the records and to concentrate on what we needed to do to get off to a good start."
Neither team could find the range to open the second half.
It took almost four minutes before the first basket was registered on the scoreboard. Primley again started the scoring for the Chieftains as his jumper gave Dowagiac a 46-17 lead with 4:14 to play in the third period.
Dowagiac would take a 54-23 advantage into the final eight minutes.
The Chieftains emptied their bench early in the period and gave its non-starters some quality minutes.
Glenn Hammond game off the bench and connected on a trio of 3-pointers.
Even with its starters watching from the sidelines, Dowagiac was able to outscore Paw Paw in the final stanza, 14-12.
Dowagiac finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field as the Chieftains connected on 23-of-52 attempts. Dowagiac was deadly from the outside as it was 6-of-17 (35 percent) from 3-point range. Dowagiac did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line as it was just 16-of-27.
The Chieftains were also outrebounded by the Redskins, 29-26. Dowagiac committed just 14 turnovers and came up with 21 steals.
Paw Paw (0-10, 0-8) shot 29 percent from the floor (12-of-41) and was 2-of-10 from 3-point range. The Redskins committed 31 turnovers on the night.
Primley led Dowagiac with 16 points. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and had three steals. Amos Clark finished with 13 points, five steals and four assists. Oscar Wilson chipped in with 11 points, while Jamie Simpson finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists.
"That first group did a real nice job of setting the tempo," Blomgren said. "We got some nice looks into Chris right away and established what we were going to try to do to them offensively. The defense created some turnovers early, so it was a good start and that's what we were hoping for."
Williams was the lone Redskin to reach double figures as he finished with 11 points. Anthony Schmidt came off the bench and had nine points.
The Chieftains are back in action on Tuesday when they host South Haven in a Wolverine Conference match-up. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
DOWAGIAC 68
Jamie Simpson 1 4-4 6, Amos Clark 5 3-3 13, Andrew Cuthbert 2 1-2 4, Oscar Wilson 3 2-2 11, Chris Primley 6 4-10 16, Romero Reed 1 1-2 3, Kevin Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Ronnell Grady 1 1-4 3, Glenn Hammond 3 0-0 9, Chuck Mersereau 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 16-27 68
PAW PAW 35
Alex Buskirk 1 1-2 3; Chad Williams 4 1-2 11; Matt Frownfelter 2 1-2 5; Austin Butler 2 0-1 4; Nick Maxwell 0 0-0 0; Zach Gumper 0 2-2 2; Willy Drouillard 0 1-2 1; Anthony Schmidt 3 3-6 9. Totals: 12 9-17 35
Dowagiac 24 45 54 68
Paw Paw 9 17 23 35
3-point baskets: Wilson (D) 3, Hammond (D) 3, Williams (PP). Total fouls: Dowagiac 16, Paw Paw 16. Fouled out: Gumper (PP). Records: Dowagiac 8-2, 7-1 Wolverine; Paw Paw 0-10, 0-8 Wolverine