The Cassopolis boys basketball team overcame some poor free-throw shooting and inconsistent defense Tuesday to beat White Pigeon, 66-59, in BCS Athletic Conference East Division action.

The Rangers improved to 5-1 in the division and clinched at least a share of the division title.

Cassopolis, which stands at 11-6 overall, avenged a loss earlier in the year to White Pigeon. The Chiefs beat the Rangers, 64-49, in their first regular season meeting.

Cassopolis boys basketball coach Ricky Evans saw his team finish 10-of-25 from the free-throw line and give up 24 points apiece to White Pigeon duo Dylan Sandy and Riley Olsen.

“As bad as we played they never quit,” Evans said on why his team was still able to prevail on Tuesday. “I was proud of them for that.”

An 11-2 run midway through the third quarter into the fourth helped Cassopolis turn a 44-41 deficit into a 52-46 lead with 6:24 left in the game.

“We wanted our guys to sit down on defense and keep White Pigeon in front of them,” Evans said. “That’s how we got that run. We played good defense.”

Shane Los’ rebound basket off his own missed free throw gave the Rangers a 63-58 lead with 53 seconds left.

Brandon Glover’s two free throws for Cassopolis with 12 seconds remaining were the final points in the game.

Dion Gatson scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals for the Rangers. Bryce Saxton added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Noah Woods had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Sandy scored 17 of his points in the second half, while Olsen made six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half. Sandy also pulled down 18 rebounds.

 

CASSOPOLIS 66, WHITE PIGEON 59

White Pigeon 59

Dylan Sandy 24, Mike Crowl 2, Jarrett Miller 5, David Miller 2, Riley Olsen 24, Dylan Hochstetler 2. TOTALS: 18 15-18 59

Casssopolis 66

Brandon Glover 8, Matt Pittman 2, Noah Woods 11, Bryce Saxton 17, Dion Gatson 18, Alex Emerson 0, Shane Los 3, Malik Ballard 0, Isaiah Crider 6, Kiante Brown 1. TOTALS: 26 10-25 66

 

White Pigeon             15       34       46       59

Cassopolis                  14       33       47       66

3-point goals: White Pigeon 8 (Olsen 7, J. Miller), Cassopolis 4 (Saxton 2, Crider 2). Total fouls (fouled out): White Pigeon 19 (Hochstetler), Cassopolis 20 (none). Technical: White Pigeon (bench). Shooting: White Pigeon 18-of-49 for 37-percent, Cassopolis 26-of-57 for 46-percent. Rebounding: White Pigeon 29 (Sandy 18), Cassopolis 36 (Saxton 10). Turnovers: White Pigeon 13, Cassopolis 10. Records: White Pigeon 7-9, 4-4 BCS East; Cassopolis 11-6, 5-1 BCS East