EAST LANSING — On bad night at the Breslin Center left the Dowagiac basketball team a game short of its goal of playing for a state championship.

The Chieftains, who came into the game riding an 11-game winning streak, shot just 25 percent from the field and 47 percent from the free throw line in its 62-43 loss to Muskegon Heights in the Class B semifinals Friday night.

The Tigers (21-7) were playing in their second consecutive semifinal game on the campus of Michigan State University, while the Chieftains (20-7) were making their first appearance in 28 years.

Second-year Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt said that playing on such a huge stage had nothing to do with the loss.

“We just picked a bad night to play a bad game,” he said in the post game press conference. “It’s the worst game we’ve played since mid-February. We didn’t shoot well from the field or the free throw line and we didn’t rebound. We didn’t look like the Dowagiac team from the prior 12 games.

“I won’t say that,” responded Hunt when asked if playing at the Breslin had an affect on his team. “Our guys have played in front of big crowds in big arenas.”

Dowagiac’s shooting woes were compounded by the fact that Muskegon Heights, who fell in the championship game to Lansing Sexton on Saturday 75-60, outrebounded the Chieftains 55-34, including 17-13 on the offensive end.

The Chieftains also had no answer for the Tigers’ Deontae Hudson, who scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Hudson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

“We rode (Hudson) like we have so many times this year,” Muskegon Heights coach Keith Guy said. “He stepped up and then other guys got their footing and we then started to expand our lead.”

Dowagiac looked anything but intimidated in the opening quarter as the two teams battled it out with some big plays on both ends of the floor.

Muskegon Heights jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage on the Chieftains thanks to five points from Hudson in the game’s opening three and a half minutes.

Dowagiac responded by scoring the next five points to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:55 still to play in the first quarter.

Chris Craft drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 7-5 and then Darius Wilson went strong the to basket and dunked over Rowmell Crawford, who was whistled for the foul. Wilson was unable to convert on the ensuing free throw and the game remained tied.

The Tigers would regain the lead momentarily on a basket by Hudson, but Dowagiac would come right back and tie the score at 9-9 on a tip-in by D.J. Hunt with 1:50 showing on the clock.

It would be the last time the game was tied.

Hudson scored again with 30 seconds left to give the lead back to Muskegon Heights for good. Another jumper with five ticks left on the first quarter clock extended the lead to 13-9 heading into the second period.

The Tigers wasted no time increasing its lead in the second quarter. Muskegon Heights opened up a 25-17 led with just under two minutes left in the first half, but Dowagiac would not go away.

The Chieftains made a run at the Tigers and cut the lead down to 27-24 with 47 seconds to play in the half.

Troy Butcher started the run with a lay-up and then Hunt hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three points.

However, Mike Davis may have hit the biggest shot of the game as time was running out in the half. His 3-pointer with three seconds remaining increased the lead back to six points and took the wind out of the Chieftains’ sails.

An 11-2 run to start the second half sealed Dowagiac’s fate as the lead increased from six points to 41-26 with three minutes left in the quarter.

Hudson had seven points during the run, which allowed Muskegon Heights to enjoy a double-digit advantage the remainder of the contest.

The third quarter was not kind to Dowagiac in several areas including shooting and turnovers. The Chieftains missed nine of its 10 shots in the first six minutes and turned the ball over seven times.

“In that third quarter, we just went cold offensively,” Hunt said. “We didn’t execute well offensively and we got banged around a little bit. That’s one of the biggest teams we’ve faced this year.”

By the end of the third quarter, Dowagiac trailed Muskegon Heights by 14 points, 45-31.
Unlike previous games during the tournament, the Chieftains were never able to mount a comeback against the Tigers. When Wilson fouled out with 3:22 remaining in the contest, Hunt began clearing his bench to get his reserves some of the experience of playing at the Breslin Center.

“Usually after having a down quarter like that, (third quarter) we are able to make a run and come back,” Hunt said. “We have played from behind all year. But tonight that didn’t happen. The magic wasn’t there.”

Highsmith finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Chieftains. Wilson was held to just nine points and seven rebounds by the Tigers. The senior center, who had four blocks, came into the game averaging a double-double. Hunt finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

For the Tigers, Deshaun Thrower and D’Vonte Dockery both had seven points.

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS 62
Rowmell Crawford 1 0-2 2, Marquis Childers 1 0-0 2, Juwon Martin 2 0-0 4, Brandon Smith 1 1-2 3, Deontae Hudson 10 7-11 31, Jeffrey Jordan 0 0-0 0, Darese Sanders 0 0-0 0, Aaron Sydnor 0 3-4 3, Deshaun Thrower 2 1-2 7, Mike Davis 1 0-0 3, Ronald Jenkins Jr. 0 0-0 0, D’Vonte Dockery 3 1-2 7, Donald Johnson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 13-23 62
DOWAGIAC 43
Dontel Highsmith 5 3-5 14, Jason Turner 0 2-2 2, Chris Craft 2 0-0 5, Tremail Butcher 2 0-0 4, Darius Wilson 2 3-8 7, Troy Butcher 1 0-0 2, Craig Zebell 0 1-2 1, Brian DeLong 0 0-0 0, D.J. Hunt 3 0-0 8, Brendon Murray 0 0-0 0, Tyler Clark 0 0-2 0, Eric Charles 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 9-19 43

Muskegon 13 30 45 62
Dowagiac 9 24 31 43
3-point baskets: Muskegon 7 (Hudson 4, Thrower 2, Davis 1), Dowagiac 4 (Hunt 2, Highsmith 1, Craft 1). Total fouls: Muskegon 20, Dowagiac 23. Fouled out: Wilson (D). Varsity records: Muskegon Heights 21-6, Dowagiac 20-7