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FD boys run into Railsplitter buzzsaw

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Drake Warland of Fort Dodge shoots over Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday

The first quarter of Fort Dodge’s boys basketball game against Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday went the way head coach Willie Williams had hoped: the Dodgers played to their pace, got stops defensively and stood toe-to-toe with the more athletic and seasoned Railsplitters.

The next two periods were a whirlwind of mistakes, miscommunication and misdirection, though. And the more Lincoln sped FDSH up with its swarming, panic-enducing defense, the further the Dodgers fell behind.

The Railsplitters scored 57 points in the middle 16 minutes of action, blitzing Williams’ squad with 24 field goals on 60 percent shooting en route to an impressive 83-49 victory in the Fort Dodge gym.

Junior guard Trovary Cavil — the leading scorer back from Lincoln’s 11-10 team of a year ago — didn’t take a shot or score a point in the opening period. Cavil exploded in the second half, however, scoring 23 of his 27 points to help the Railsplitters (1-1 overall) sprint past the Dodgers (1-2).

“You have to give them credit,” Williams said. “They did a great job of pressuring us and forcing us into bad decisions (Fort Dodge had 19 turnovers), turning it into a full-court, faster-paced game. That’s their offense — getting (the opposition) to hurry and making plays on both ends in transition. They’re a veteran team and I know they have high expectations (for this season). All we can do is watch the film, teach, learn from it and move on.”

The Dodgers trailed only 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and 18-17 almost midway through the second before Lincoln absolutely took off. The Rails had 24 points in the last 4:48 of the half, opening the floodgates and turning a close contest into an 18-point advantage.

The third period was more of the same, as Fort Dodge surrendered 26 more points without much resistance or ability to keep Lincoln in check.

“We just weren’t communicating well and weren’t on the same page offensively or defensively,” Williams said. “The effort was there, but we went from getting stops and playing good ball early to struggling with their size, quickness and depth.”

Six-foot-3 junior Tony Davidson added 15 points, missing only one shot. Six-foot-2 junior Deng Gai had 12 off the bench, and 6-3, 230-pound senior Jamal West contributed 11 for the Rails, who dominated the paint and made 30 of their 42 two-point attempts (71 percent).

Dodger senior Javion Jondle had 13 points, with sophomore guard Carter Woodruff knocking down three triples for nine points. Senior reserve Ti’Juan Isom chipped in eight.

“You play how you practice,” Williams said. “I’ll say that over and over again. We didn’t have our best practice (on Monday) and it showed. Our concentration and execution has to be better and more consistent. They’re a good ballclub, but we fell right into their gameplan during those two (middle) quarters.”

Fort Dodge returns to action on Friday at home against Waterloo East (2-2). Varsity boys tip is set for 7:45 p.m.

DM LINCOLN 83, FORT DODGE 49

Des Moines Lincoln — Trovary Cavil 11-18 3-4 27, Tony Davidson 7-8 1-2 15, Jamal West 5-9 1-2 11, Benno Cooper 3-10 0-0 9, Kyrell Moore 1-5 0-0 3, Deng Gai 6-10 0-1 12, Charlie Fry 2-2 0-0 4, Sullivan Suarez-Quilty 1-1 0-0 2, Laquan Cowell 0-2 0-0 0, Jack MacGregor 0-2 0-0 0, Damarius Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 36-67 5-9 83.

Fort Dodge — Carter Woodruff 3-7 0-0 9, Cade Westerhoff 2-9 0-0 5, Kyron Wilson 2-3 0-0 4, Drake Warland 2-5 0-1 4, Ty Adams 1-6 2-4 4, Javion Jondle 6-9 1-2 13, Ti’Juan Isom 2-5 3-4 8, Damarion Calahan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-47 6-13 49.

Quarter scores: Lincoln led 11-10, 42-24, 68-34. Three-point goals: Lincoln 6-25 (Cooper 3-10, Cavil 2-5, Moore 1-4, Gai 0-4, Cowell 0-1, MacGregor 0-1); Fort Dodge 5-13 (Woodruff 3-5, Westerhoff 1-3, Isom 1-3, Adams 0-2). Turnovers: Fort Dodge 19, Lincoln 11. Total fouls: Fort Dodge 13, Lincoln 20. Fouled out: Davidson.

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