By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Defense was the difference Tuesday night as the Dowagiac Chieftains opened up 2004 with a 64-52 non-conference victory over visiting South Haven.
Dowagiac (3-4) turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter and started knocking down some open jump shots as it took control of the game.
The Chieftains, which grabbed a 28-26 halftime lead on a Richie Burling 3-pointer in the closing seconds, outscored South Haven (3-4) 21-10 in the third quarter.
Dowagiac used a 17-4 run in the third quarter to help open up a 49-36 lead heading into the final eight minutes of the contest.
In the fourth quarter Dowagiac's lead grew to as much as 20 before the Rams put together a late charge to make the score a little more respectable.
Davey Moran hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 6:50 remaining in the contest to increase Dowagiac's lead to 20.
South Haven cut Dowagiac's lead to 59-47 with three and a half minutes to play. But a hard foul to Jeff Cooper by Caleb Grimes sparked a 6-0 run, all scored by Cooper, which gave Dowagiac a 64-47 lead with 2:27 left to play.
Dowagiac and South Haven played nearly even through the first eight minutes of play. Dowagiac trailed the Rams, 13-11.
The Chieftains outscored South Haven 17-13 in the second quarter to take a 28-26 lead into the lockeroom.
Blomgren also noted that his shake up of the starting line up was due to team rule violations.
Cooper led Dowagiac with 22 points, while Burling finished with 15 points and Moran nine. Duane Davis contributed eight points.
Grimes paced South Haven with 14 points.
Dowagiac will travel to Marshall on Friday to take on the undefeated and No. 3 ranked Redskins.
Time change
The Central Middle School seventh and eighth grade A teams are scheduled to play New Buffalo on Thursday.
However, due to a conflict, the eighth grade squad will play first followed by the seventh grade team.
SOUTH HAVEN 52
Caleb Grimes 4 6-7 14; Skyler Waaso 3 2-4 10; Atlantis Goodwin 0 0-0 0; Brady Compton 1 0-0 2; Tarail Sutton 3 2-2 8; Eric Leatherbury 1 0-0 3; Jeremiah Smith 1 3-4 5; Elijah Kuenlli 4 2-2 10; Jeff Mercer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 15-19 52
DOWAGIAC 64
Jamere Bacon 1 0-0 2; Duane Davis 4 0-0 8; Davey Moran 3 0-1 9; Dustin Shaffer 1 0-0 2; Jeff Cooper 7 8-12 22; Ed Campbell 2 0-0 4; Jesse Cox 0 0-0 0; Richie Burling 4 4-4 15; Landon Reed 0 2-2 2; Chris Primley 0 0-1 0. Totals: 22 14-20 64
South Haven 13 13 10 16 -- 52
Dowagiac 11 17 21 15 -- 64
Three-point baskets: South Haven 3 (Waaso 2, Leatherbury), Dowagiac 6 (Moran 3, Burling 3).
Total fouls: South Haven 14, Dowagiac 15. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: Moran (D).