By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC – For three and a half quarters, the Dowagiac boys' varsity basketball team was in a position to pick up its second victory of the season.
But the bigger and more experienced Allegan Tigers out-scored Dowagiac 14-2 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 48-39 home court victory.
The Tigers remained undefeated in the Wolverine Conference (4-0) and are one of the teams that people expect to compete for the league championship.
"Last night (Friday) we showed the ability to execute a game plan that we talked about for the past two days," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "The kids did exactly what we wanted them to do for three and a half quarters. We were right there until the last four minutes.
"We accomplished what we wanted to. We gave ourselves a chance the last four minutes. We haven't found a way to close the deal yet," Blomgren added.
The Tigers, 4-1 overall, grabbed a 12-10 lead after one period of play and led 28-22 at the intermission after outscoring Dowagiac 16-12 in the second quarter.
Dowagiac came out of the locker room and took control of the contest.
The Chieftains (1-4, 1-3 Wolverine) scored 15 points in the third quarter, while holding the Tigers to six points.
Dowagiac took a 37-34 advantage into the final eight minutes.
Allegan's Adontus Jackson sparked the Tigers in the final quarter at the defensive end of the floor.
Jackson scored just one point in the game, but in the fourth quarter, he had seven rebounds, three steals and two deflected passes.
The Chieftains struggled offensively in the quarter, which allowed Allegan to pull away for the victory.
Dowagiac sophomore Brandon Douglas scored a game-high 22 points. Dowagiac also got six points each from Ronnell Grady and Romero Reed. Jamie Simpson finished with five points.
Curtis Drozd led the Tigers with 16 points. Dillon Hileski and Lyle VanderHurst both finished with eight points.
Dowagiac is now off until Jan. 3, 2008 when it hosts Comstock.
"I was pleased with the effort," Blomgren said of his squad. "We took a step forward in understanding what we need to do to be successful."
DOWAGIAC 39
Ronnell Grady 2 2-2 6; Shaun Bruens 0 0-0 0; Greg Nelson 0 0-0 0; Romero Reed 2 1-2 6; Jamie Simpson 1 2-2 5; Brandon Douglas 8 2-2 22; Chuck Mersereau 0 0-0 0. 13 7-8 39
ALLEGAN 48
Matt El 2 1-2 5; Dillon Hileski 3 1-1 8; Adam Brown 2 1-2 6; Curtis Drozd 6 1-2 16; Lyle VanderHurst 3 2-2 8; Matt Smith 2 0-0 4; Adonus Jackson 0 1-4 1. Totals: 18 7-13 48
Dowagiac 10 12 15 2 – 39
Allegan 12 16 6 14 – 48
3-point baskets: Simpson (D), Reed (D), Douglas (D) 4, Brown (A), Hileski (A), Drozd 3) Total fouls: Dowagiac 15, Allegan 12. Fouled out: None. Records: Dowagiac 1-4 overall, 1-3 in Wolverine; Allegan 4-1, 4-0