By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
For the first time since 2001, the Dowagiac varsity basketball team goes into its regular season finale knowing that it is a conference champion.
The Chieftains (16-3, 15-2) locked up at least a share of the crown on Tuesday night with a 50-47 victory over Three Rivers.
Dowagiac can now lay claim to the undisputed championship tonight when it hosts Paw Paw.
The Chieftains are taking nothing for granted against the Redskins, who have just one conference victory this season.
Dowagiac would love nothing more than to get off to a good start and then cap off one of the best seasons in school history with a big victory.
"This has been a tremendous year for our program," said Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren, who also coached the girls' basketball team to a share of the league championship last fall. "It's a great feeling for our team. It has been a nice turnaround, to have to have gone through what these kids did the past three seasons."
The Chieftains struggled in the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference (SMAC), but took the lessons learned from playing against bigger schools and good competition into their first season in the Wolverine.
"We definitely took some lumps," Blomgren said about playing in the SMAC. "But these kids have worked hard. They have been committed and it is paying off. I thought we would be an upper half team in this league, but we didn't know what to expect.
"Winning all those games early was key," he continued. "We got through to the Christmas break at 4-0 in the league and played three of those games on the road. We knew we would be in the mix and had a chance to do something special."
Dowagiac stumbled into the new year with a loss at Vicksburg. The Chieftains would lose just once more, setting up tonight's chance at the undisputed title.
"We were able to protect the home court," Blomgren said. "We have a chance to go 10-0 at home. I think the kids are pretty excited about it. We mentioned that this was going to be the last time the seniors would play a competitive game in our gym and it got kind of quiet. I think they understand what they have accomplished."
Dowagiac starts four seniors and a junior.
Senior Chris Primley leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and is second in rebounding at 6.8.
Senior Amos Clark, who is averaging 14.7 points per contest, leads the team in assists with 75 and steals with 57. Senior Oscar Wilson, who averages 10.4 points, leads the team in 3-pointers with 37.
Junior Jamie Simpson leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 caroms a game, which includes a season-high 17-rebound effort against Otsego on Feb. 23.
Dowagiac will honor is seniors prior to tip-off, which is scheduled for approximately 7 p.m.