Boy’s Basketball: Wolves end Chargers’ season

by Jason Wolverton

A season that exceeded so many expectations ended in heartbreaking disappointment for the Midland Dow varsity boy’s basketball team Wednesday night as they fell to Bay City Central 61-50 in the Class A district semifinal at Bay City Western.

The Chargers struggled early before surging late in the second quarter to take a 29-27 halftime lead. But Central came back during a back-and-forth third quarter before pulling away in the fourth to advance to the district finals and end Dow’s season far sooner than many expected.

“We had a great year and we won a lot of big games,” said Dow coach Dave MacDonald. “But this would have been a nice one to get.”

Only four players scored for the Chargers, who trailed 8-2 early in the first quarter as the Wolves came out firing. Dow battled uphill most of the way but pulled within one on three free throws from Spencer Jennings with 21.5 seconds to go in the quarter. Alex Bush hit a 3-pointer as time expired, though, to give Central a 17-13 lead heading into the second.

Midway through the quarter, Dow trailed by six before making a run that got them right back into the game. Tyler Schroll’s layup with 2:58 to go was followed by a Brad Ostergren layup that made it 23-21. Austin Robinson then sunk two free throws to tie the game before nailing a jumper to give Dow the lead.

But as would be the case all night, the Chargers were unable to make any big runs as Alex Bush nailed a 3-pointer to bring Central back within one. Dow would lead by two at the break.

“We didn’t play like we normally play,” MacDonald said. “We didn’t play with confidence and I thought we played nervous. We played all season long with some degree of confidence and we didn’t tonight. We weren’t getting the loose balls, we were getting hurt on defensive assignments and leaving them open for some easy looks.”

Central would get a few more open looks in a third quarter that featured quick surges from both teams. Bush tipped in an offensive rebound to tie the game to begin the quarter, and Central would take a 32-30 lead on a three by Brad Norman. Jennings answered with a three of his own to put Dow back up, but Bush promptly topped that with another bucket from behind the arc that gave the Wolves a 35-33 advantage.

Central would eventually open it up to 39-33 before Dow made a run of its own and tied the game at 39 all on a bucket from Ostergren. But Bush struck from behind the line with another three and the Wolves would never trail again. Dow was down by three going into the fourth and the Wolves were able to put it away thanks to pair of threes from Justin Reed and five free throws from Norman.

MacDonald was clearly disappointed in his team’s overall performance, but was also quick to give Central credit for a job well done.

“They played like they wanted to win and we didn’t and that was the difference,” he said. “They played hard and they executed their game plan and they made shots….”

Offensively, the Wolves were led by Bush who had 23 points and Norman who had 20.

Schroll led Dow with 17 points, while Ostergren had 14. Robinson and Jennings scored 10 and nine points, respectively.

Dow finishes the season with a record of 15-6.

To view the photos from Wednesday’s game, click on “Photo slideshow” in the top right corner of this article. The photos are also available for purchase by clicking the “Buy photo reprints” link.

Photos by Jason Wolverton