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FDSH boys caught from behind by Maroons

Tom Daniel wants teams visiting the Fort Dodge gym to be prepared for a battle.

That happened here on Friday night, as the Dodgers stood toe-to-toe with ninth-ranked (Class 4A) West Des Moines Dowling in a CIML Iowa Conference contest.

Behind an eight-point fourth quarter from Sam McMurray, the Maroons were able to overcome an 11-point deficit and claim a 41-40 victory.

“I don’t deal a lot in moral victories,” Daniel said. “But where we are at and with this effort, we showed that we are closing that gap. Teams aren’t going to want to come to Fort Dodge to play. That’s the kind of program we want to build.

“Win or lose, you don’t want to just take the court and go through the motions. The guys played extremely hard and extremely well, we just came up short.”

Malcolm Clayton had a chance to win it for the Dodgers (7-7 overall, 4-4 in league), but his floater — and subsequent attempt at a putback — missed, giving Dowling (12-3, 7-1) its seventh consecutive win.

Clayton finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Jordan Jackson had his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against a Maroon team that features University of Iowa football recruit John Waggoner.

“I can live with Malcolm’s shot,” Daniel said. “That’s what we wanted. I don’t have one regret from the game. We had a great crowd.

“This is a special group and I’m proud of them. They wanted to match up with Dowling and prove they could play with them and they did that.”

Jackson, who was coming off a 17-point, six-rebound performance vs. Mason City, “is starting to take off,” according to his coach.

“He really battled hard in there,” Daniel said. “He went up against some big guys and stood his ground.”

Dowling, which features three Div. I signees in Waggoner, Sam Ingoli (University of Northern Iowa for football) and Luke Yacinich (Cornell University for baseball) went 6-for-8 shooting from the field over the final eight minutes to erase an eight-point deficit.

McMurray hit a pair of 3-pointers and Blake Clark added six points. Clark was the starting quarterback on the football team that captured a fifth consecutive state title this past fall.

“We talk a lot about not being defeated before you take the court,” Daniel said. “About how the name or number on the jersey can defeat you. But these guys aren’t interested in that.

“They proved they belong in the conversation in the CIML.”

Fort Dodge out-rebounded Dowling 16-10 in the first half and held a plus-nine edge on the glass for the contest. They led 33-22 with just over three minutes to go in the second quarter.

Ingoli, who leads the team in scoring at 15 per game, was held in-check by Clayton. The senior finished with just eight points before fouling out on an offensive charge that Jackson drew with 2:40 to go.

The Dodgers hit the road for their next three games, starting with Ankeny on Tuesday.

WEST DES MOINES DOWLING 41, FORT DODGE 40

Fort Dodge — Trey Mosley 1-6 2-2 4, Malcolm Clayton 7-20 3-4 18, Tysen Kershaw 1-5 4-4 6, Jordan Jackson 5-9 0-0 10, Aaron Porter 1-5 0-0 2, Jace Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Rodney Tilawen 0-0 0-0 0, Malihk Lockman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-44 9-10 40.

WDM Dowling — Sam McMurray 4-7 0-1 10, Sam Ingoli 4-8 0-1 8, Luke Yacinich 0-6 0-1 0, Blake Clark 4-7 2-6 11, John Waggoner 2-8 3-10 7, Jack Keough 1-1 0-0 3, Dylan Eastman 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Riggs 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Lyman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-39 5-18 41.

Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 14-9, 22-16, 33-25. Three-point goals: Fort Dodge 1-7 (Mosley 0-1, Clayton 1-5, Porter 0-1); WDM Dowling 6-16 (McMurray 2-3, Ingoli 2-5, Yacinich 0-4, Clark 1-2, Keough 1-1, Eastman 0-1). Total rebounds: Fort Dodge 36, WDM Dowling 27. Steals: Fort Dodge 6, WDM Dowling 7. Team fouls: Fort Dodge 16, WDM Dowling 10. Fouled out: Ingoli. Turnovers: Fort Dodge 10, WDM Dowling 10.

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