By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
BERRIEN SPRINGS – A huge fourth quarter lifted the Dowagiac varsity basketball team into the Class B District semifinals on Wednesday against No. 2 ranked Lakeshore.
The Chieftains blew open a close game with a 19-point fourth quarter, which led to the 49-37 victory over the host Shamrocks.
Dowagiac (18-3) battled Berrien Springs tooth-and-nail through the first three quarters, with neither team able to pull away to much of an advantage.
The Chieftains were able to grab the early momentum, building a 9-0 lead on a basket by senior Chris Primley.
The Shamrocks (17-4) slowly whittled away at the Chieftains lead, trailing 11-5 by quarter's end.
Berrien Springs finally caught the Chieftains a 15-15 with 35 seconds left in the opening half on a basket by Matt Demler.
Dowagiac would take a three-point lead into the locker room at halftime, however, as junior Jamie Simpson canned a 3-pointer with no time remaining on the clock.
Berrien Springs cut the Chieftains' lead to 22-21 midway through the third quarter and then took its first lead of the game on a basket by Randolph Shaw with 3:33 left in the period.
The Shamrocks would open up a four-point advantage with 1:43 to play in the third on a basket by Anton Lockett.
Dowagiac came storming back and knotted the game at 30-30 on another last-second basket.
The clock read 0:00 when senior Amos Clark's jumper fell threw the bottom of the net.
Clark then came out and got the Chieftains rolling in the final eight minutes as he hit a 3-pointer to make it 33-30 with 6:37 to play.
It was all Dowagiac from there.
The Chieftains forced a couple of quick turnovers and then tightened its grip on the Shamrocks.
Consecutive turnovers by Berrien Springs led to a 38-30 Dowagiac lead with 5:31 to play. Two more turnovers over the next two minutes allowed the Chieftains to open up a 45-30 advantage with 3:06 to play after Primley scored in the paint.
From there, the Wolverine Conference champion Chieftains worked the clock and scored enough points to stay well ahead of the Shamrocks.
"We got one steal and I think the kids started to smell it," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said of his defense in the final quarter. "They got more aggressive and Berrien started getting more timid. They weren't attacking our press."
Neither team was able to get up many shots against the opposing defense. Dowagiac was 20-of-47 from the field (43 percent), while Berrien Springs was 15-of-41 (37 percent).
Berrien Springs did manage to hold a 29-23 advantage in rebounding, many of which came in the opening half. The Shamrocks committed 14 turnovers compared to just seven for the Chieftains.
Primley led all scorers with 21 points. He grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds as well. Dowagiac also got 14 points, six steals, four rebounds and three assists from Clark.
Senior Andrew Cuthbert and Simpson both finished with six points and four assists.
Gregory Whitehead led the Shamrocks with eight points. Berrien Springs' leading scorer, Demler was held to just six points by Dowagiac's box-and-one defense.
"Our goal was eight points or less for Demler," Blomgren said. "We figured if we did that, they wouldn't be able to score enough points elsewhere to beat us. Andrew and Oscar picked him up man-to-man depending on what side of the court he came down against our press."
Dowagiac will get a chance for redemption on Wednesday night. The Chieftains lost to the undefeated Lancers in the season opener in Stevensville.
"We just wanted the opportunity to play Lakeshore," Blomgren said. "They're rated as the second best team in the state and we don't question it. They're a solid team worthy of their record. But we're looking forward to playing them."
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
DOWAGIAC 49
Andrew Cuthbert 2 0-0 6, Jamie Simpson 2 0-0 6, Oscar Wilson 1 0-0 2, Amos Clark 6 1-4 14, Chris Primley 9 3-7 21, Ronnell Grady 0 0-0 0, Glenn Hammond 0 0-0 0, Romero Reed 0 0-0 0, Chuck Mersereau 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 4-11 49
BERRIEN SPRINGS 37
Gregory Whitehead 3 0-0 8, Matt Demler 2 2-2 6, Anton Lockett 3 0-0 6, Kolby Wood 2 2-2 6, Robert Walker 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Dybdahl 1 0-0 3, Christopher Hass 0 0-0 0, Greg Toliver 0 0-0 0, Randolph Shaw 3 0-1 6. Totals: 15 4-5 37
Dowagiac 11 18 30 49
Berrien Springs 5 15 30 37
3-point baskets: Cuthbert (D) 2, Simpson (D) 2, Clark (D), Whitehead (BS) 2, Dybdahl (BS). Total fouls: Dowagiac 7, Berrien Springs 12. Fouled out: Lockett (BS). Technical fouls: None. Records: Dowagiac 18-3, Berrien Springs 17-4