×

Another slow start dooms FDSH boys

For the last 25 minutes of Tuesday’s game against Waterloo East, Fort Dodge boys basketball coach Willie Williams saw the effort, tenacity and sense of urgency he’s been expecting from his Dodgers.

An immediate 16-point deficit was simply too much to overcome, though, as FDSH couldn’t dig itself out of that hole in a 72-57 loss to the Trojans.

Senior Jeremiah Clark had 26 points as East (7-5 overall, 3-2 in the IAC North) got off to a hot start and wound up keeping the Dodgers (2-11, 0-5) at bay in pushing its win streak to four.

“We just can’t keep putting ourselves in that position,” Williams said. “It happened at Humboldt (on Monday) and then again (last night). If you spot good teams 10, 12, 14 points, you’re going to be chasing that the rest of the way. So even when you do start to come back, you just have (no margin for error).

“I’m proud of our guys for staying with it and not giving up. It was a much better effort than (a 71-39 December loss to the Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines). But we have to figure out a way to take the fight to our opponent instead of the other way around. And I’m just going to keep getting back to and harping on the little things.”

It took Fort Dodge five minutes and 28 seconds to finally score, and East led 18-2 before a traditional three-point play from Dodger freshman Reggie Pederson and a bucket by junior Tytrell Mosley. The Trojans were still up 17 late in the second quarter and by 16 at intermission.

A 10-0 FDSH run early in the fourth period trimmed a 20-point deficit in half, but the Dodgers never got closer than 59-49.

Seniors Cade Westerhoff (19 points) and Carter Woodruff (15) led the way, shaking off slow starts. All of Westerhoff’s points came after a scoreless first quarter, and Woodurff came alive after being 0-for-5 in the opening half.

“Cade and Carter really started playing well and getting into a rhythm, but it took a while to get going,” Williams said. “They’re our go-to guys, and we need that start to finish.

“We got good minutes from all of our guys at times, but we’re not boxing out like we need to and we’re trying to block too many shots instead of staying home (defensively). They (East) were getting a lot of second and third looks off missed shots. And it’s hard to win giving up over 70 points, which we did for the second straight night.”

Fort Dodge turned the ball over 23 times and made only one three-pointer in 14 tries.

There were 62 total free throws attempted and five technical fouls called, as things got chippy at times between the old Big 8 rivals. Woodruff and Pederson were a combined 14-for-16 at the charity stripe.

Da’Shaundis Moore — like Clark, a senior captain — added 19 points for the Trojans. Clark and Moore made 18 of 25 foul shots between the two of them.

The Dodgers are at Mason City (6-5, 3-2) on Friday. Varsity boys tip is set for 7:45 p.m.

WATERLOO EAST 72, FORT DODGE 57

Waterloo East — Jeremiah Clark 8-13 10-13 26, Da’Shaundis Moore 5-14 8-12 19, Gianni Gary 1-2 2-2 4, Quenden Hart 0-2 2-6 2, Da Sann Means 1-2 0-0 2. Jeremy Waters-Wright 3-5 1-2 9, Isaiah Thomas 4-6 0-0 8, Kamarion Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Jonah Hemlrichs 0-1 0-0 0, Jadyn Perkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-48 23-35 72.

Fort Dodge — Cade Westerhoff 8-11 3-6 19, Carter Woodruff 3-12 9-11 15, Reggie Pederson 2-9 5-5 9, Taevon Feeley 2-4 0-3 4, Kauner Jensen 0-1 0-0 0, Hayden Zuspann 2-5 1-2 6, Tytrell Mosley 1-2 0-0 2, Gavin Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Tisyn Hook 0-0 0-0 0, Tayven Altman 0-2 0-0 0, Carter Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Brody Maehl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-48 18-27 57.

Quarter scores: East led 18-7, 35-19, 54-39. Three-point goals: East 3-10 (Waters-Wright 2-4, Moore 1-3, Hart 0-2, Gary 0-1); Fort Dodge 1-14 (Zuspann 1-3, Woodruff 0-5, Pederson 0-3, Altman 0-2, Davis 0-1). Turnovers: East 15, Fort Dodge 23. Total fouls: East 21, Fort Dodge 24. Fouled out: Westerhoff, Feeley, Jensen. Technical fouls: Gary 2, Moore, Woodruff, Feeley.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today