One Nation, Under God
The Dodson Coyotes have made it to the Eastern C Divisional for the first time since 2011 and they hope to post their first win in the division round in close to half a century.
The Dodson Coyotes are looking to gain their first Divisional win since the twenty-first century. The last possibly confirmed win in the divisional round was in 1966.
The Coyotes are hoping to pick up a win against the Richey-Lambert Fusion in the opening round of the tournament. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 21, in Glasgow.
“We need to play defense and we need to make our shots,” Dodson Head Coach Frank Benson said. “It looks like they (Richey-Lambert) crash the boards and it looks like they pressure, so we have to be able to handle their pressure and we have to be able to pressure them.
The Dodson Coyotes took care of business in the District 3C tournament last weekend and defeated the North Country Mavericks in the consolation finals in Glasgow on Saturday, February 16.
The Coyotes went 3-1 last weekend to secure their spot in the Eastern C.
Dodson dismantled the Opheim Vikings, defeating the young team 76-27.
Dodson was led by Corbin LoneBear and Kadin Racine who both had ten points. Tyrese Messerly had nine points. Alex Werk had eight points, Caleb Ditmar had seven points, Zerek Jones had seven points, Shaun Ball had six points, Michael Jaynes had six points, Jeremiah Benson had three points, Dwight Werk had two points, and Juliun Benson had two points.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 34-2 lead in the first quarter and did not allow a field goal until under 2:30 in the second quarter, by then the Coyotes had put in their reserve players. Dodson also outscored the Vikings in the second period 22-7, giving them a 56-9 lead by halftime. Opheim outscored Dodson 12-7 in the third period and Dodson scored 13 in the fourth while only giving up six.
After the win, Messerly, a senior, reflected on his team’s success this year.
“It’s been good,” Messerly said about his senior season. “It’s been successful and there has been a lot of triumph and one of the best seasons that I have ever had. This season we probably have more wins than all of my other seasons combined.”
Messerly shared what he thought was the key to the team’s win over Opheim.
“The ball movement was key in tonight’s W,” Messerly said. “It was just about facilitating and getting everyone the ball.”
Ditmar, a fellow senior, shared his thoughts on Dodson’s dominant defense that game.
“We all went hard from the first quarter,” Ditmar said.
Ditmar was asked what the team needed to do to keep stacking up wins in the postseason.
“Just leave it on the court, especially Tyrese and I because we are seniors,” Ditmar said.
Dodson’s reserves played a majority of the game against Opheim, so Messerly was asked about their effort.
“The young bucks are going to be something to watch out for in years to come,” Messerly said. “They are a pretty good group of guys.”
The Coyotes would lose their semi-final game against Lustre Christian in double-overtime on Friday, February 15. The score was 51-50.
“They have a really good guard in Zach Brown and they have length,” Coach Benson said. “They are tall. They are taller than us and we are not used to that.”
Lustre outscored Dodson in the first and second quarters, stifling their dangerous offense. Dodson only scored on a pair of free throws by Michael Jaynes in the first, while giving up five points. Lustre had their highest offensive output in the second period scoring 13 points and holding Dodson to 10. The score at the half was 18-12 in favor of Lustre.
Dodson would find their groove in the third quarter, scoring 18 points, while giving up 12, tying the game 30-30 by the end of the period. Both teams would score 11 in the fourth.
Ditmar and LoneBear scored a pair of baskets for Dodson in the first overtime period, but they were matched by four points from Kaleb Hoversland. Lustre would outscore Dodson 6-5 in the second overtime period.
Dodson went on to defeat Nashua in the consolation semi-finals 61-52 on Saturday, February 16. The Coyotes were led by LoneBear who had 26 points. Ball had 18 points, Messerly had six points, Jones had five points, Dwight Werk had two points, Jaynes had two points, and Ditmar had two points.
“They are scrappy,” Coach Benson said of Nashua. “They are a tough one. They are so scrappy they could have picked up a win. We were just in a double-overtime game and had to get up and play in another game. We won by eight but they don’t give up.”
Coach Benson compensated for Nashua’s aggressiveness by putting in Dwight Werk, who stands over 6’3” and is a true post player.
“They were scrappy and then I put Dwight in the middle and they didn’t want to get scrappy anymore,” Coach Benson said.
The Coyotes also went on to defeat North Country in the consolation finals. It was the third time these teams met and the third time Dodson secured a win. The score was 58-50.
Dodson was led by LoneBear and Ball who each had 15 points. Ditmar had 10 points, Jones had seven points, Jaynes had five points, Messerly had three points and Ju. Benson had three points.
The win was a come from behind victory, as the Coyotes fell behind 25-12 in the first quarter.
“We were down 13-0, and then 17-2,” Coach Benson said. “Then we made baskets. We weren’t playing as a team in the first quarter. But Shaun Ball kept us around in that first quarter.”
According to Benson, Ditmar eventually hit a three-pointer from near half-court that really helped set a tone.
“I didn’t see him shoot the ball. Then everyone started cheering,” Coach Benson said. “That changed the momentum of the game.”
Dodson outscored the Mavericks 21-7 in the second quarter and 13-4 in the fourth to ultimately win the game.
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