-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Reggie Pederson of Fort Dodge shoots over Des Moines East on Monday inside Dodgers gym

The Fort Dodge boys basketball squad couldn’t get out of their own way in the season opener on Monday night against Des Moines East.

Head coach Willie Williams started and ended the postgame conversation with the number that mattered most in his team’s 64-47 loss to the Scarlets inside the Dodger gym: 22.

“We can’t have 22 turnovers,” Williams said. “You do that in any sport at any level and you’re not even giving yourself a chance. You have to (value possessions) and take care of the ball. It’s really that simple.

“We have to do a better job of that moving forward. Have to.”

East used a 16-3 run to open the final quarter and pull away from the Dodgers, who were still within striking distance despite all of the miscues and noticeable struggles at the free throw line. Senior Jayvion Hanson had 20 points and junior Samson Amenu added 18 for the Scarlets, who caught fire following the intermission to earn the road victory.

After going just 10-for-35 from the field in the first half, East made 15 of its 24 shots the rest of the way — a 63 percent clip.

Sophomore Reggie Pederson finished with 15 points for FDSH, which got off to a quick start — leading 9-3 midway through the opening quarter — before the Scarlets closed the period with 10 straight points.

“Reggie gave us good minutes,” Williams said. “We had guys playing hard, but we got careless and weren’t executing. And when we were down seven or eight (late in the third), we kind of panicked. You could see East building confidence taking the ball to the hoop more and (capitalizing off of) our mistakes. We didn’t get enough stops in the second half especially.

“Our defense (from inside the perimeter) wasn’t good enough (the Scarlets made 22 of their 33 two-point shots). But those extra possessions we just handed to them — that’s something we have to fix in a hurry. That’s on me. It all starts with taking care of the ball first.”

The Dodgers were only 12 of 24 at the free throw line, including 5-for-14 in the first half. They also connected on just 16 field goals in 49 attempts.

“We have a lot of seniors and guys who have been around the program for a long time,” Williams said. “It’s only one game so we can’t read too much into it. We just know we have to be better the next time out. Thankfully we get a chance again right away (at Boone).”

Fort Dodge squares off with the Toreadors at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

DM EAST 64, FORT DODGE 47

Des Moines East — Jayvion Hanson 6-18 8-11 20, Samson Amenu 8-18 1-2 18, D’Angelo Parker 2-4 1-2 5, Cedrique Irishura 0-6 0-0 0, Malik Williams 0-0 0-2 0, Daniel Tut 5-5 0-0 11, Jayleaonce Weber 1-1 1-2 3, Donovan Rockers 1-3 0-0 3, Keegan Beattie-Cerveny 1-2 0-0 2, Davion Curry 1-2 0-0 2, Treshaun Parker 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Cason 0-2 0-0 0, Treysen Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Collin Peck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-59 11-19 64.

Fort Dodge — Reggie Pederson 5-10 4-5 15, Hayden Zuspann 3-10 1-1 9, Tytrell Mosley 3-9 0-0 6, Taevon Feeley 2-6 1-4 5, Brody Maehl 2-4 1-4 5, Kauner Jensen 1-2 1-2 3, Tisyn Hook 0-2 3-6 3, Carter Morris 0-0 1-2 1, Karter Hemrick 0-5 0-0 0, Kyree Rochon 0-1 0-0 0, Kian Rowe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-49 12-24 47.

Quarter scores: East led 13-9, 26-21, 39-32. Three-point goals: East 3-26 (Amenu 1-7, Tut 1-1, Rockers 1-2, Hanson 0-10, Irishura 0-5, Beattie-Cerveny 0-1); Fort Dodge 3-13 (Zuspann 2-7, Pederson 1-1, Hemrick 0-4, Mosley 0-1). Turnovers: East 9, Fort Dodge 22. Total fouls: East 22, Fort Dodge 17. Fouled out: Feeley.