DOWAGIAC — There seems to come a point in every season that teams have to battle not only opponents, but illness.

The Dowagiac boys basketball team has reached that point of its season, as the Chieftains were unable to muster up the intensity they have been playing with for the past month.

But despite the fact that Dowagiac did not have that extra gear to switch to, the Chieftains were able to come away with a 53-47 victory over visiting Paw Paw in Wolverine Conference non-divisional play Tuesday night.

The win was the sixth straight for the Chieftains, who hit the road on Friday as they return to Wolverine Conference South Division action against Sturgis.

Dowagiac coach Danum Hunt said that several players had to “gut it out” in order to stay in school Tuesday and be able to play against Paw Paw. It was easy to see even in warmups that the Chieftains were struggling with their energy level.

“We took Sunday night off because we had several kids sick,” Hunt said. “We had kids who fought to stay at school today to be able to play tonight. So tonight, that energy and intensity were not there, and we had to fight for the win.”

Hunt said that having to play in a game like Tuesday’s could pay dividends down the road.

“It was ugly, but ugly wins are beautiful too,” he said. “I think, every now and then, having to overcome a little adversity is good, too. To be tested when you are not at your best is always good. You can always learn something from it, and it will make us better in the long run.”

Dowagiac (8-4) and Paw Paw (5-6) were deadlocked at 7-7 after the first quarter. Dowagiac was able to pull ahead by two (20-18) at halftime before extending its lead to 34-23 heading into the fourth quarter.

Paw Paw would not go away during the final eight minutes and even pulled ahead by a basket in the waning stages of the fourth quarter.

The lead would last just one trip up the court as the Chieftains turned to seniors T.J. Reed, Dashawn Brooks and D.J. Lanier to pull out the victory.

Lanier scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter, including going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Reed and Brooks turned up the defensive pressure that created turnovers and forced Paw Paw to run time off the clock it did not have.

Besides Lanier, Dowagiac got eight points off the bench from De’Ondray Henry and seven points each from Cailyn Murphy and Stewart Smith.

Clayton Bretch led Paw Paw with 16 points. Finlay Tate chipped in with 14.

Tipoff for Friday night’s game is approximately 7:15 p.m. following the girls varsity contest.