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Dowagiac can't Mess with Gull Lake |
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Written by Stephen Bell
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Saturday, 19 December 2009 04:22 |
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Richland Gull Lake reached the century club plus a bucket Friday against Dowagiac, blowing the hectic and chaotically-paced contest wide open in the second half for a 102-69, homecourt, Wolverine Conference win.
Trenton Messer, a 6-foot-5 Gull Lake forward, showed why he is one of the fastest rising prospects in the state's junior half, scoring 15 of his 20 points after intermission, along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. He physically wore down Dowagiac's smallish frontline. When Messer buried himself on the blocks and got a defender on his hip, which was often, it was all over becasue he finishes so efficiently. He had a big dunk on the break, as sweet up-and-under reverse and two three-point plays, relishing the contact of Chieftans defenders who could do little but grab at him. The blocks shots are indicative of his activity, alertness and hustle on the defensive end, because it's not like Messer is 6-9 and just camping out under the hoop waiting for weak-side rejections.
Messer shot 7-for-11 on the field (two of those misses were on successive but unsuccessful tips) and 6-for-10 at the line. 6-1 junior Adrian Zuidweg scored 19 for Gull Lake and 6-4 grinder Adam Peters had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Though not reflected statistically, 6-2 senior point guard Taylor Schultz could have shared game MVP honors with Messer for his defense against Dowagiac's Dontel Highsmith. Highsmith is the 6-2 freshman point guard who played like an all-stater in the first week of the season. But he was just another freshman in this one thanks to Schultz's physical, foot-smart, denial defense. Highsmith turned the ball over twice in the game's opening seconds, and ended up with seven turnovers and no assists. He was going 100 mph in a 55. But the physical ability was all too apparent -- his defensive range, super quick crossover and passes that were the right idea just delivered way too hard. Highsmith lacks the polish of some of the 2013 phenoms, but in terms of raw talent he doesn't have to stand behind anyone. He just ran into a good veteran today, Schultz, and what is likely the best Class B team in Southwest Michigan. |