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FRIGID OPENER

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Tysen Kershaw of Fort Dodge blocks Lincoln Ben Badger on Tuesday inside Dodgers gym

By ERIC PRATT

sports@messengernews.net

Tom Daniel doesn’t want his Fort Dodge boys basketball team to panic.

The Dodger head coach expects his players to find their sense of urgency, though, as the program’s busy pre-Christmas stretch continues with two more games at the end of this week.

A second consecutive frigid FDSH shooting performance let Des Moines Lincoln pull away for a 52-45 victory inside the Dodger gym on Tuesday, as the Dodgers fell to 0-2 less than 48 hours into their 2018-19 campaign.

Daniel’s squad missed 40 field goal attempts, and made just a single bucket during a six-plus minute stretch in the fourth period as the Railsplitters prevailed in a CIML cross-conference contest.

“We have a lot of work and a lot of coaching to do,” Daniel said. “Unfortunately, with four games this week and 10 before (the winter break), a lot of our learning is going to have to come from what happens on the court.

“We would have benefited from more (preseason) practice time, given what we lost (to graduation) from the year before. But our lack of experience is something we’re just going to have to deal with as we go. And we have to get tougher. It’s not about effort; I thought we played hard. It’s about being physically and mentally tough on defense and on the boards.”

Fort Dodge was fighting from behind throughout, giving up a pair of three-pointers right out of the chute and not gaining the upper hand until the third quarter. Even when the Dodgers did finally pull ahead on a jump shot by Jace Peterson with 6:45 left in the period, Lincoln responded with a quick 10-0 burst to go up 32-23. The Rails never trailed again.

The home team did chip away at the deficit and got back within 36-33 early in the fourth, but that’s when the dry spell hit for the second straight night down the stretch. Fort Dodge was only down nine at Indianola on Monday night heading into the final frame, but the Dodgers lost by 24.

“We battled, but you can’t miss as many shots as we did and expect to come out on top,” Daniel said. “Everyone has moved up a couple of spots in the rotation (with the graduation of all-state guard Malcolm Clayton and all-CIML backcourt mate Trey Mosley), which puts a different kind of pressure on (the returning players). And everyone is pressing and trying to do a little too much.”

Jordan Jackson led the way with 25 points, but the senior forward struggled mightily from the floor. Peterson added 12.

Junior reserve Asle Thorson pulled down 12 rebounds.

“I give Asle credit; he came in and did what he could,” Daniel said. “Again, I think the energy was OK, but we had too many breakdowns on both ends of the court, and we were either overly aggressive or too hesitant, depending on the player and the situation.

“We have to get better in a hurry with the stuff we can control, which is defense and rebounding. That has to improve if we want to have any chance in the CIML, which can be relentless.”

Ben Knoebel knocked down five first-half three-pointers and finished with 18 points to lead the Railsplitters. Josiah Conkrite added 15.

Lincoln made 12 of its 15 free-throw attempts in the final 3:41 of regulation after visiting the line just once in the first three-plus periods combined.

Fort Dodge faces Ankeny at home on Friday. The Hawks knocked off Des Moines North last night, 85-78.

DM LINCOLN 52,

FORT DODGE 45

Des Moines Lincoln — Ben Knoebel 6-11 0-0 18, Josiah Conkrite 4-14 6-7 15, Nate Feller 4-6 2-2 10, Logan Sharp 1-2 2-2 4, Maiwut Jok 0-1 0-0 0, Felix Gallagher 1-4 2-3 4, Ben Badger 0-0 1-2 1, Karon Allen 0-2 0-0 0, Kameron Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-40 13-16 52.

Fort Dodge — Jordan Jackson 9-29 6-8 25, Jace Peterson 3-12 5-8 12, Tysen Kershaw 3-9 0-0 6, Malihk Lockman 0-2 0-0 0, Rodney Tilawen 0-2 0-0 0, Asle Thorson 1-1 0-2 2, Nolan Daniel 0-1 0-0 0, D’Arien Calahan 0-0 0-0 0, Isaiah Alvarez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-56 11-18 45.

Quarter scores: Lincoln led 11-7, 22-19, 32-29. Three-point goals: Lincoln 7-25 (Knoebel 6-11, Conkrite 1-8, Feller 0-2, Gallagher 0-2, Jok 0-1, Allen 0-1); Fort Dodge 2-11 (Peterson 1-2, Jackson 1-6, Tilawen 0-2, Lockman 0-1). Turnovers: Lincoln 19, Fort Dodge 9. Total fouls: Lincoln 15, Fort Dodge 18.

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