A team is only as good as the sum of its parts.

That’s very true of the Dowagiac basketball team, which will play in its first Class B state quarterfinal in 28 years tonight against East Grand Rapids.

The Chieftains wear a slogan on a shirt which was designed by the team. That slogan reads “12 deep, 1 heartbeat.”

Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt has watched his team mature over the past two seasons and especially since the beginning of the state tournament. Times have not always been good for the Chieftains, but they have worked through any issues they have had like a family and now that family is on the verge of making history.

Dowagiac, winners of 10 straight games, last played in a state quarterfinal back in 1983. That team advanced to the state semifinals at Crisler Arena on the campus of the University of Michigan where it lost to eventual state champion Corunna.

A win tonight would propel the Chieftains to the state semifinals once again, this time held at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.

What is special about this Dowagiac team is its blend of experience and youth. Hunt has been able to blend a strong senior class with his juniors and four sophomores, who do more than just take up space on the bench.

Each and every player on the roster has contributed to the success of the Chieftains’ program this season and that is why Dowagiac takes a 19-6 record into tonight’s contest against East Grand Rapids at Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg at 7 p.m.

Their names may not always jump out at you in the box score, but Brian Delong, Eric Charles, Craig Zebell, D.J. Hunt, Brendon Murray and Tyler Clark have each played a role, whether it be on the court during a game, or in practice, in making 2010-11 a season that Dowagiac fans will remember for a long time.

“The rest of these guys make up the completion of the family,” Hunt said. “We wouldn’t be complete without the rest of those guys.”

Hunt admitted that coaching his son D.J. has been not always been an easy thing to do, but in the end, the experience he is gaining right now will go a long way to helping this team down the road.

“I really caught a lot of flack last year for bringing him up to the varsity,” he said. “A lot of it was due to the fact that people thought it was just because he was my son. But as a freshman last year on the JV, he had games of 27, 29, 22 and 25 points. A kid like that performing that way at the JV level as a freshman, we needed to challenge him by taking him to the next level. He didn’t play a whole lot of minutes, but he was able to contribute in the minutes he played and I knew he was going to be key coming back this year.

“Sometimes it’s difficult being a father and a coach. Sometimes you have to separate the two, but I tell you, he’s a good kid, a good son and a good player. He will be one of our leaders coming up in the near future.”

Murray did not play a lot of minutes during the regular season, but he has been big for Dowagiac in the post season.

“He did not play a whole lot during the regular season, because Brendon was still in the process of learning,” Hunt said. “I kept encouraging him. I said, ‘look, if you keep doing what you are doing it is going to come together at the right time.’ His hard work has paid off. He has been huge for us here in the post season. I still believe he hasn’t played his best game yet. I am still looking for bigger things out of him.”

When Dowagiac’s standout point guard Dontel Highsmith wasn’t ready to begin the season after having knee surgery last fall, Clark was called upon to run the show for the Chieftains.

“Tyler Clark has not played a lot of minutes here in the post season, but when Dontel was injured at the beginning of the season, Tyler started at the point,” Hunt said. “I think Tyler put a little more pressure on himself than he had to thinking he had to perform at that level. But he’s now playing like himself. In fact, in the post season Tyler has no turnovers. When he comes into the game he possesses the ball and does what he needs to do. He also helps us out on defense.”

Dowagiac has five seniors that play a significant amount of time, while Delong, the sixth member of that class, gets limited minutes during the games, but contributes in a variety of ways according to his coach.

“I think Brian was cheated a bit during his freshman year,” Hunt recalled. “During tryouts, he got his two front teeth knocked out. He wasn’t able to come back to practice for a while, so he didn’t play his freshman year. That kind of put him behind the other seniors, but he works hard, he comes in and plays his role. He comes in and challenges the rest of the guys every day in practice. When Brian gets his opportunity to get into the game, you can see his development that he’s had over the last three years. He’s a joy to have on the team. He comes in every day and does what he has to do to make the rest of the kids better. I really appreciate the hard work and the effort he puts in.”

Every team has a player that does the right things and says the right things when they are needed.

For Dowagiac, that player is Zebell, who is a standout soccer player for the Chieftains.

“Next to Tyler, Craig is the smallest guy on the team. But Craig is a big, important piece of this team. All the kids have given him the nickname ‘pastor Craig.’ Craig he is quiet, but at the same time, Craig comes in and he knows what to say and when to say it. He says the right things at the right time. Craig, coming from playing on that district championship soccer team, he is the epitomy of a good teammate. He comes in and he has helped us pull this thing together. He has helped us jell together and become a family. Craig is an essential part of what we do.”

From one of the smallest players to its largest, Charles too has had to develop his role on this squad. Having to play behind senior Darius Wilson has meant limited minutes this season, but in those minutes, the 6-foot-5 center has been big in more ways than one.

“Eric Charles is the biggest kid we have in the gym and he has played some huge minutes for us this season,” Hunt said. “He takes up space in the middle and does a good job rebounding. We look to him for some huge minutes in the future. But he’s giving us huge minutes right now. I think his senior year is going to be really promising.

“Eric comes in and works hard. He comes in before practice and works with coach (Mark) Jackson and he stays after practice and works with coach Jackson. Eric wants to do what he has to do. He is a kid who wants to get better. He wants to improve. It’s not too often that you find kids of that caliber. He’s a hard worker. Every day he is challenged. It is not easy to go against a kid like Darius in practice every day, but that is also making him better.”

Hunt concluded that the players who have been coming off the bench this season for the Chieftains have been a big part of the success of the program.

“Our bench minutes and bench performance have helped to pull us through the post season tournament,” he said. “I am just so proud of all of these guys and I tell you, especially with the sophomores that we have, I wouldn’t be surprised that in another year from now we are in the same position. We are back in the same place making another run.”

After all, as Hunt said before, “we are a family. These guys have come together and they live the logo that they wear on the their shirts. ‘Twelve deep, one heartbeat and these kids believe in that. They work together and they have one common focus and goal and that’s to get to the Breslin Center and have an opportunity to win it. With the hard work that they have put in, they deserve it. As a coach I am going to do everything I can to put them into a position to be able to realize their dream to be able to play in the Class B state championship game.”