The run to the Class B District and Regional championships has been spearheaded by Dowagiac’s seniors.

For the past two seasons, the Chieftains have counted on their senior class to help mold the direction of the program under new coach Danum Hunt.

That senior group, brothers Tremail and Troy Butcher, Jason Turner, Chris Craft and Darius Wilson have contributed much to the title run Dowagiac has been on.

The sixth member of the senior class is reserve guard Brian Delong.

Wilson has become the unspoken leader of the Chieftains, while Turner and Tremail Butcher are the assassins. Craft and Troy Butcher are Dowagiac’s defensive specialists.

“I really wish I could have those seniors one more year,” Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt said. “One more year and I might do the Rasheed Wallace and guarantee you a state championship. Those guys are huge.

“Tremail Butcher has been on the varsity team for three years and he is deserving of everything that has happened here. He is one of our leaders out there. Darius, what can I say? That kid has come through a whole lot in his personal ife. He has been able to overcome those things and get out here on the basketball court and he averages a double-double. He refuses to let us lose. Everytime we are facing adversity or someone is making a run, he will tell the guys ‘we are not losing this game.’”

Tremail Butcher averages around 13 points a game, while Wilson is averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“Turner, you know what? He has struggled shooting the ball at times this season, but Turner has come in and accepted his role and tonight he knocked down a couple right when we needed them,” Hunt said. “Chris Craft is a defensive specialist. Chris can score, but Chris decided this year, he was going to put aside his scoring and do what I can do at the defensive end because I want to win.

“Troy Butcher could very well start, but he comes off the bench and he accepts that role. He is our defensive spark off the bench.

“I am just really, really proud of those seniors and I am going to miss them when they are gone because they have helped make this program what it is and they help make this thing go. If it wasn’t for them we probably wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Where Dowagiac is standing is three games away from a state championship and one game away from a trip to East Lansing and the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.

The senior class has adapted well to a change in coaching two seasons ago and a different style of play under the direction of Hunt.

Those changes have paid off in a big way for the Chieftains, who take a 19-6 overall record into the Class B state quarterfinals on Tuesday night against East Grand Rapids (15-9).

Tip-off at Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg High School is scheduled for 7 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals on Friday, March 25 at 7:50 p.m.

The state finals are scheduled for Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m.