Phillips County News - One Nation, Under God

The Dodson Coyotes Basketball team made history last season, winning their first divisional tournament game since 1966, according to Dodson Public Schools. The team was 17-7.

This season, the team that consists of 17 athletes, who hope to improve on their 2018-19 stint, in which the team earned hardware at the district tournament, taking home third. The Coyotes did so at the expense of North Country, who they defeated 58-50 in the consolation finals.

Though the team lost starting guards Tyrese Messerly, and the late Caleb Ditmar to graduation, Dodson welcomes back three starters; Corbin LoneBear, Shaun Ball, and Zerek Jones. The team will also be without Michael Jaynes, who is going through treatment for cancer.

LoneBear, a 6'4" senior, has been named to the All-Conference list twice in the past two seasons. He was an honorable mention in 2018, and a first-teamer in 2019.

"He can play any position on the court," Coach Benson said of LoneBear last season. "He scores with the ball and away from the ball. He could beat you off the dribble with his size that is tough to defend."

Ball, a 6'0", was also a first-teamer last season for the second time. Ball has been known to heat up in a hurry.

"He can get hot from shooting," Coach Benson said in an earlier interview. "The one thing he improved on was using his teammates to find a way to score. He improved on scoring without the ball. He is still that kid that if you need a basket, he will find it in clutch situations."

Jones, a 6'4" junior, is the third and final starter returning this season. Zerek proved to be a solid rebounder and put-back threat for Dodson last season.

"Zerek Jones lives in the post," Coach Benson said, praising Jones' efforts in the paint. "He doesn't leave it. He cleans up a lot of rebounds. He gets a lot of offensive rebounds and put-backs."

Before the season began for Dodson, Coach Benson had several names of reserves from last season who were pushing for one of those two open spots; Jeramiah Benson, a 5'9 Junior, Dwight Werk, a 6'4 Sophmore, Juliun Benson, a 5'11 Freshman, Alex Werk, a 6'0 Freshman, and Kevin Wing, a 5'10 Freshman.

Pierre Bibbs

Dodson junior Jeramiah Benson grabs a rebound last season.

Dodson won their first two games of the season at the Native American Classic in Great Falls on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7.

In their first win of the season, LoneBear scored 31 points, despite only having one point in the first quarter. LoneBear also had six rebounds and three steals. Ball had 15 points and Ju. Benson had 11.

In their 44-33 win over Heart-Butte on Saturday, the team was led by Ball who had 18 points and three steals. LoneBear had nine points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Coach Benson mentioned that the Coyotes have been working hard this summer on and off the court.

"We hit the weight room and went to a lot of summer tournaments including a third place finish at Big Sky," Coach Benson said.