Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Brody Maehl of Fort Dodge had a career-high 27 points on Friday against Des Moines North in the Dodger gym.

Teetering on the brink of a disappointing home defeat, the Fort Dodge boys basketball team found their footing just in time by feeding their big man down low.

Sophomore post player Brody Maehl dominated in the paint, scoring a career-high 27 points as the Dodgers rallied to take down Des Moines North by a final of 57-52 on Friday.

“I’m just so proud of and happy for these kids,” FDSH head coach Willie Williams said. “They dug deep. Brody played his butt off. We brought a lot of energy in that fourth quarter.

“It’s been a tough season, but these guys really care. They care about each other and they care about this program. They’ve been supportive of each other and there’s no negativity. Of course we’d like to have a better record and more (victories), but these kids work and care and do things the right way. They’re still very invested.”

The Dodgers (3-16 overall) had erased nearly all of a nine-point halftime deficit by the late stages of the third period, but the Polar Bears (5-12) answered and turned a tenuous 36-35 advantage back into a 47-38 lead with 5:09 remaining in regulation. North suddenly had its breathing room and FDSH was gasping for air.

The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Maehl, who had already been a huge presence underneath up until that point, really went to work to help fuel the Dodgers’ final comeback. A layup and a traditional three-point play from Maehl pulled Fort Dodge back within 47-43, and the pivotal 10-0 run continued with a basket by senior Taevon Feeley and a go-ahead three-pointer by sophomore Reggie Pederson that brought the raucous crowd to its feet.

The Polar Bears gained the upper hand again on a T’Angello Bush field goal, but Maehl had another and-one to give the Dodgers the lead for good and another bucket for a multiple-possession edge.

A Bush three-pointer made it 53-52 at the 1:35 mark, but Fort Dodge senior Tytrell Mosley salted the victory away with four consecutive free throws and North never scored again.

The Dodgers went back and forth with the Polar Bears in the first half of the opening quarter until a 9-0 North burst put the visitors in control. The Polar Bears led by as many as 13 points on a Bush triple with 1:31 left in the second period at 29-16.

North never did have an answer for Maehl, though. He scored twice to give Fort Dodge some much-needed momentum heading into the locker room, giving him 10 for the half.

The Dodgers, who didn’t even reach 30 points the night before in a lopsided loss to No. 1 (Class 3A) Storm Lake, shot 70 percent from the floor in the final frame, putting up 22 points. Maehl had 10 in the period and Mosley added seven.

Bush led the Polar Bears with 25 points, but 18 came in the first half. He only got four shots off in the second half after going 7-for-10 in the first.

“Reggie played great defense on (Bush) after that,” Williams said. “He really got after it. Tytrell finished it up (at the free throw line) the way a senior should. Gavin (Davis) gave us really good minutes.

“We wanted to get Brody as many touches as we could (in the post), and you could just see his confidence growing. They couldn’t stop him. It was fun to see the guys enjoying a win. We were fired up in the locker room (afterward).”

Maehl also grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory.

Fort Dodge visits eighth-ranked (Class 4A) Des Moines Roosevelt on Tuesday, followed by the regular-season finale at home against Perry on Friday.

FORT DODGE 57,

DM NORTH 52

Fort Dodge — Brody Maehl 12-18 3-5 27, Tytrell Mosley 2-4 4-4 9, Reggie Pederson 2-7 4-6 9, Hayden Zuspann 2-10 0-0 6, Gavin Davis 1-1 0-0 3, Taevon Feeley 1-3 0-0 2, Tisyn Hook 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 20-45 12-17 57.

Des Moines North — T’Angello Bush 9-14 4-4 25, Corde Patterson 4-7 0-2 8, Taveon Boone 3-12 0-0 7, Robert Seals 1-8 2-2 5, Wisha Etha 2-9 0-0 5, Trashaun Prather 1-1 0-0 2, Andrew Chuol 0-1 0-0 0, Tiverson Yleisa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-52 6-8 52.

Quarter scores: North led 20-12, 29-20, 40-35. Three-point goals: Fort Dodge 5-13 (Zuspann 2-10, Davis 1-1, Mosley 1-1, Pederson 1-1); North 6-27 (Bush 3-7, Etha 1-8, Seals 1-6, Boone 1-5, Chuol 0-1). Turnovers: Fort Dodge 11, North 13. Total fouls: Fort Dodge 14, North 17. Fouled out: Etha.