Adam Meier, a 6-5 senior center scored a career-high 25 points and a team leading six rebounds to propel Plainwell to a 62-55 Wolverine Conference victory over Dowagiac Tuesday night.

Dowagiac (1-1) never led as the Trojans’ shot (15-of-19 in the first half) were finding the bottom of the net, but still trailed only 16-15 after one quarter and 38-27 at intermission.

“Adam (Meier) took advantage of our lack of discipline on defense and played and shot real well,” stated Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt. “We will be pretty hard to beat when at full strength.”

Plainwell (3-0) was led at halftime by Meier, who is being recruited by Aquinas and Cornerstone Universities, with 15 points and senior Tremail Butcher scored eight to lead the hosts, but classmate Darius Wison  had to sit with three fouls before exploding in the third quarter.

Wilson brought the hometown faithful to their feet with an astounding dunk with 6:48 remaining in the game and made the free throw to deadlock the game at 50 apiece. Shortly thereafter, Plainwell senior Mason Goostrey banged his head on the court trying to stop Wilson from another throw down.

“Mason (Goostrey) was always conscious and the entire team is going over to see him in the hospital,” said Plainwell coach Larry Ash.  “This is a great start for us and the first time in seven years to be unbeaten after three games.”

In the final minutes, junior Justin DeBruyne canned a couple of threes and Meier hit a couple of free throws to seal the victory.

“I was surprised we shot so well at threes, because we only made two in the first couple games,” noted Ash. “Dowagiac will be a hard team to beat when completely healthy.

The Chieftains were led by Butcher with 14 points with Wilson and sophomore D.J. Hunt scoring ten points apiece, who played without starters Dontel Highsmith and Troy Butcher.

“Hopefully, Mason is okay and praying for him, because some of our kids know him very well,” commented Hunt. “Coach Ash is a good friend and gave him an early Christmas present. Wilson (Darius) has grown a lot and is a very exciting to player to watch.”

PLAINWELL 62

Adam Meier 8 9-11 25; Justin DeBruyne 4 0-1 12; Austin Lutz 3 1-2 8; Jack Conklin 3 2-4 8; Mason Goostrey 2 0-0 4; Tyler White 2 0-0 4; Zachery VerHage 0 1-2 1. Totals  22 13-20 62.

DOWAGIAC 55

Tremail Butcher 6 0-1 14; Darius Wilson 4 2-2 10; D.J. Hunt 4 0-0 10; Jason Turner 2 2-3 7 Chris Craft 2 1-2 7; Eric Charles 1 1-2 3; Brendon Murray 1 0-0 2; Tyler Clark 1 0-0 2.  Totals  21  6-10  55.

Plainwell 16 38 49 62

Dowagiac 15 27 43 55

3-point baskets: Plainwell 5 (DeBruyne 4, Lutz 1),  Dowagiac 7 (Butcher 2, Hunt 2, Craft 2, Turner). Total fouls Plainwell 8, Dowagiac 16. Varsity records Dowagiac 1-1, 1-1 Wolverine; Plainwell 3-0, 3-0 Wolverine

Dowagiac…30

Plainwell…33

PLAINWELL — The Dowagiac girls’ basketball team dropped its first game of the season as host Plainwell edged the Chieftains 33-30 Tuesday night in Wolverine Conference play.

The Chieftains trailed 10-4 right out of the gate and never were able to catch up.

Plainwell took a 19-19 halftime lead, however, Dowagiac tried to rally in the second half, coming up a bit short.

Haley Pegan led the Chieftains with 11 points, while Kaisha Martin added nine and Karie Lorenz six.

Dowagiac is now 2-1 on the year and 2-1 in conference play.

Plainwell improves to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Wolverine.

DOWAGIAC 30

Katie Lorenz 6, Keslie Primley 0, Kaisha Martin 9, Haley Pegan 11, Breneesha Jones 4. TOTALS: 10 8-16 30

PLAINWELL 33

Thiel 5, Pallett 11, Termeer 2, Hyanes 5, Hartman 4, Reed 4, Burrows 2. TOTALS: 12 8-22 33

Dowagiac 4 9 17 30

Plainwell 10 19 23 33

3-point baskets: Dowagiac 2 (Lorenz 2), Plainwell 1 (Thiel). Total fouls: Dowagiac 18, Plainwell 16. Varsity records: Dowagiac 2-1, 2-1 Wolverine; Plainwell 4-0, 3-0 Wolverine