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Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Solomon Clayton of Fort Dodge goes up for a shot against Urbandale earlier this season.

Fort Dodge boys basketball coach Tom Daniel admitted he was worried after his team dropped a pair of lopsided games last week to Johnston and West Des Moines Dowling.

But for now the ship seems to be righted, thanks again to Fort Dodge’s smothering defensive effort.

The Dodgers put on the defensive clamps against Urbandale here in the Dodger gym Friday, holding the J-Hawks to single digits in three of four quarters on the way to a 49-27 victory, their second in as many nights.

“It was nice considering where we were last week,” said Daniel, whose team won at Southeast Polk Thursday night. “You should have seen where our spirits were after last week.

“The guys deserve credit. I’m proud of them. They have been resilient. It couldn’t have been a better way to end the week.”

The Dodgers (8-4, 5-2) held Urbandale to just five points in the first period, seven in the second and four in the third. Urbandale finished with 11 in the final quarter.

“They are a quality 4A team,” Daniel said of Urbandale (5-8). “I hadn’t seen them struggle offensively on film. I guess we just have their number. It’s easy to have fun on offense. There’s not much glory in playing good defense and getting charges and getting rebounds. We just didn’t ever lose focus defensively.”

Junior Malcolm Clayton led the Dodgers with 17 points, including 14 in the second half. Solomon Clayton added 10, but missed most of the fourth quarter with cramps.

The Dodgers also got limited minutes from senior Brady Read, who is nursing a sprained thumb.

“Going back to back and having a long road trip is tough,” added Daniel. “It will be nice to play just one game next week. Our goal is to get them all healthy this week.”

Urbandale was led by Trevor Miller with seven points. The J-Hawks were held to just 10 made baskets on 42 shots, just 24 percent. The Dodgers were 19 of 47 and they made six three-point buckets to just one for the visitors.

Fort Dodge held Urbandale to just 1-for-7 shooting in the first quarter but led just 7-5. The J-Hawks missed their first seven shots in both the second and third periods as the Dodgers pulled away. They led 19-12 at the half and 37-16 after three periods.

Again, Daniel was able to clear his bench. He got quality minutes from Jace Peterson, Joe Artis, Jonny Bowser and Damion Chavez. Read also came off the bench.

Fort Dodge will be off until next Friday when the Dodgers travel to Mason City to take on the Mohawks. A win there would guarantee an upper division finish in the CIC Iowa Conference.

“We need the practice,” said Daniel. “This group understands the importance of that to us. They know that how we practice is how we play. We didn’t have good practices over break and it showed in our first few games back.”

Tuesday’s non-conference game at Sioux City North that was postponed has been rescheduled for Feb. 11, which gives the Dodgers a pair of three-game weeks after Friday’s trip to Mason City.

Fort Dodge 49,

Urbandale 27

Fort Dodge — Trey Mosley 2-6 2-2 7, Malcolm Clayton 7-11 0-0 17, Silas Naylor 1-4 2-2 4, Jordan Jackson 3-7 0-1 6, Solomon Clayton 4-9 1-1 10, Jace Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Joe Artis 0-1 0-0 0, Jonny Bowser 1-1 0-0 3, Damion Chavez 1-3 0-0 2, Brady Read 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Gehlhausen 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Straight 0-0 0-0 0, Marco Fumagalli 0-0 0-0 0, Edward Crawford 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 19-47 5-6 49.

Urbandale — Eric Milewsky 2-7 0-0 4, Cade Friedrichsen 1-3 2-2 4, Ben DeKruyf 1-7 0-0 3, Trevor Miller 2-11 3-3 7, Grant Garwood 2-9 1-2 5, AJ Costello 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Will Pattison 0-0 0-0 0, Jared Witke 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Boord 1-2 0-0 2, Noah Hoffman 0-0 0-0 0, Drake Page 0-0 0-0 0, Haris Serdarevic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 10-42 6-7 27.

Three-point shots: Urbandale 1-14 (Milewsky 0-2, DeKruyf 1-6, T. Miller 0-4, Pattison 0-1, Witke 0-1). Fort Dodge 6-12 (Mosley 1-3, M. Clayton 3-3, S. Clayton 1-3, Bowser 1-1, Chavez 0-1); Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 7-5, 19-12, 37-16; Total fouls: Fort Dodge 13, Urbandale 12. Fouled out: Read.

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