The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Dreads seek win
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2008
Dexter's boys' basketball team has hit the proverbial wall late in the season. The Dreadnaughts (7-9, 4-6 Southeastern Conference) have lost seven straight ballgames. Prior to its unfavorable streak, Dexter was flying high basking in a winning stretch of six of its last seven contests.
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To the Dreadnaughts' credit, a few of their seven consecutive losses have come on last-second fluke shots and late-game turnovers. Not every setback has been a blowout.
"Our major problem during this streak has been not taking care of the basketball," said Dexter coach Randy Swoverland.
Case in point was last Friday's 55-32 loss to host Ann Arbor Huron. Against the River Rats, Dexter committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
Because of turnovers, Huron raced out to a 15-4 first quarter lead.
At halftime, the River Rats increased their advantage to 29-14.
In the third quarter, the Dreadnaughts regained some semblance of order outscoring Huron 6-5, cutting their deficit to 34-20 entering the fourth stanza.
In the fourth quarter, however, Ann Arbor regrouped outscoring Dexter 21-12 for the night's final margin.
Senior center Dave Pisano (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) led the Dreadnaughts with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Pisano's 13 boards were a career-high.
Senior guard T.J. Fenske (6-1) added nine points, while junior forward Dan Newell (6-4) had five points for Dexter.
Junior guard Jordan Rodriguez finished with three points, while junior forward Travis Rize and junior guard Ryan Lemasters each netted two points and sophomore guard Stefan Elslager had one point for the Dreadnaughts.
On Feb. 5, host Dexter lost to Class A No. 2 state ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer 61-42.
The Dreadnaughts fell behind 10-9 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Pioneers outscored Dexter 17-7 taking a 27-16 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, Ann Arbor turned up the defensive heat, outscoring the Dreads 20-10 and taking a 47-26 into the fourth frame.
In the fourth quarter, Dexter battled back outscoring the Pioneers 16-14 for the contest's ending tally.
"They (Pioneer) had a big spurt at the end of the first, with a 7-0 run," Swoverland said. "Then they had a 10-spurt in the middle of the third quarter."
Swoverland said the unbeaten Pioneers are every bit a No. 2-ranked club.
"They don't have a clear cut weakness you can exploit," he said. "The have good perimeter shooters and a strong inside presence with (6-5 Zach) Williams. They're a well-balanced team."
Pisano paced the Dreadnaughts with 11 points.
Lemasters chipped in nine points, while Fenske had five points.
Freshman center Dave LaMore (6-6) and Rize each had four points, while junior guard Steve Muchmore had three points and junior guard Justin Gomez and Elslager each finished with two points for Dexter.
The Dreadnaughts next travel to Tecumseh for a game Friday at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, Dexter visits county rival Chelsea for a match-up at 7 p.m.
On Feb. 21, the Dreadnaughts host Ypsilanti Lincoln at 7 p.m.
Freshman Basketball
Dexter's freshman boys' basketball team lost to host Ann Arbor Huron 59-20 last Friday.
The River Rats led 35-9 at halftime.
Brian Bentz (6-1) led the Dreadnaughts (2-13) with six points.
Justin Gross added five points, while Dan Kedroske had four points, Travis Chaffee three points and Kevin Skiver two points for Dexter.
"Huron is a good team," said Dexter coach Jason Miller. "We had a bad day. The guys did not show up to play."
On Feb. 5, the host Dreadnaughts lost to Ann Arbor Pioneer 51-49.
Dexter led 15-11 after one quarter. At the break, Pioneer led 28-25.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Dreads trailed 43-36.
In the fourth frame, Dexter outscored Ann Arbor 13-8 for the contest's final outcome.
Bentz led the Dreadnaughts with 15 points.
Kedroske finished with nine points, while Alex Wallis and Noah Hiser each had eight points for Dexter.
"I was pleased with their performance," Miller said. "The guys showed up to play."
The Dreadnaughts next host Tecumseh Friday at 7 p.m.
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