Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Jordan Jackson of Fort Dodge shoots in the Dodger gym last week against Waukee.

DES MOINES — The Fort Dodge boys basketball squad never lost faith during their early-season struggles against one of the top schedules in the state.

Their patience and resilience paid off on Tuesday, as the Dodgers scored a 47-39 road upset against eighth-ranked (Class 4A) and previously unbeaten Des Moines Hoover.

Seniors Jordan Jackson and Jace Peterson combined for 23 points as the Dodgers (1-5 overall) got the breakthrough win they’d been grinding toward over the Huskies (4-1) — a perennial state power. Fort Dodge closed the game on a 7-0 run to seal the victory after Hoover had pulled within 40-39 with just under a minute to go.

“This one ranks right up there, just because of how rewarding it was for these kids,” said Dodger head coach Tom Daniel, who had never recorded a win in this gym during his 11-year tenure before last night. “Their attitude and effort has never wavered. They never felt sorry for themselves. There have been moments of frustration on my part, but they stayed the course and continued to believe in each other.

“I had quite a few Hoover fans come up to me afterward and compliment me on how hard and tough our guys played. That means a lot. This hasn’t been easy in the early going and they’ve dealt with a ton of adversity, but they just kept battling.”

Fort Dodge led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, and after going through a second-period lull that saw the Huskies pull even by halftime, the Dodgers went back up by five points going into the fourth quarter.

“We could never really get comfortable; they kept coming at us, and eventually took the lead at one point,” Daniel said. “Instead of having a ‘here we go again’ mentality, we just worked our way through it.

“Our kids wanted it. I could see it in their eyes. It’s huge for us to get a taste of some success like this; it was a fun locker room to be in (afterward).”

FDSH had started 0-5, losing to a pair of opponents who were ranked in the Top-10 of the first Associated Press basketball poll this week. The five programs on the team’s schedule so far had a combined record of 15-3 heading into Tuesday’s action.

“It kind of all started with Petey (Peterson), who had a really nice overall floor game,” Daniel said. “Jordan did some nice things. Tysen was really solid on both ends of the court. We got quality minutes from all of our guys top to bottom. This was a true team win.”

The Dodgers visit Marshalltown (4-1) on Friday. The Bobcats edged West Des Moines Dowling last night, 43-42.

FORT DODGE 47, DM HOOVER 39

Fort Dodge — Jordan Jackson 13, Jace Peterson 10, Tysen Kershaw 6, Malihk Lockman 6, Grant Barber 4, D’Arien Calahan 4, Dayson Clayton 4.

DM Hoover — Manny Austin 16, Adam Jackson 11, Hosea Treadwell 7, Jaden Loveless 4, Jonathan Beverly 1.

Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 11-7; Tied 15-15; Fort Dodge led 30-25.