Dowagiac senior Leroy Lewis came off the bench and scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Chieftains to a 52-41 non-conference boys basketball win against visiting St. Joseph Tuesday night.

Lewis, who made the choice to go from starter to the first player off the Chieftain bench earlier this season, scored 11 of his 19 points in the second quarter as the Chieftains took a 24-20 halftime lead on the Bears.

“Leroy is a spark off the bench,” Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt said. “Leroy was a starter for us, but he chooses to come off the bench. It kind of gives him an opportunity to see the game first and then get in and have an impact. He was that guy tonight.

“I think, without, Leroy that would have been a bit of a struggle tonight.”

Lewis said he noticed the team seemed flat before he entered the contest.

“I come in and try to spark the team like I do every night,” he said. “I feel like I can help the team more coming off the bench.”

It was an 11-2 run over nearly a three-minute span that allowed Dowagiac to turn a tie game at 8-8 into a 19-10 advantage.

St. Joseph (3-11) would outscore the Chieftains 10-5 over the final two and a half minutes to cut the lead to four heading into the break.

Dowagiac decided to turn up the heat in the third quarter and it worked to perfection as the Chieftains (13-3) outscored.”ed the Bears 16-10 in the period to take a 40-30 lead into the final eight minutes.

St. Joseph would make one last run at Dowagiac, cutting the lead to 40-37 with 3:49 remaining.

But the Bears inability to protect the basketball allowed the Chieftains to withstand the rally and eventually pull away for the 11-point victory.

Besides Lewis’ output, Dowagiac also got 12 points from Keoante Blackamore.

Carter Scramlin was the lone St. Joseph player to reach double figures as he finished with 13 points.

Former Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren was happy with his team’s effort, but not with the 27 turnovers they committed.

“You can’t win basketball games with that many turnovers,” he said. “We have got to figure out how to take care of the basketball.”

 

DOWAGIAC 52, ST. JOSEPH 41

At Dowagiac

ST. JOSEPH 41

Grif Beaudettte 0, Darious Bell 0, Andy Hodge 6, Izak Ruddell 0, Ryan Haynes 2, Carter Scramlin 13, Michael Hunn 8, Cade Shimulunas 6, Sam Szwabowski 4, Trevor Dilley 2. TOTALS: 15 5-12 41

DOWAGIAC 52

Marcus Winchester-Jones 2, Harry Reed 3, DeYonte Sullivan 0, Brandon Winchester-Jones 7, Leroy Lewis 19, Josh Lamphere 0, Adrien Bucha-Moore 3, Keoante Blackamore 12, Jamin Hunt 6. TOTALS: 17 14-25 52

 

St. Joseph       5          20       30       41

Dowagiac        8          24       40       52   

3-point baskets: 6 (Hodge 2, Scramlin 2, Hunn 2), Dowagiac 4 (Reed, Lewis 2, Bucha-Moore). Total fouls (fouled out): St. Joseph 19 (Hunn), Dowagiac 12 (none). Varsity records: St. Joseph x-x, Dowagiac 13-3. JV Score: Dowagiac 54, St. Joseph 51