Coyotes make history in Glasgow

Though the season ended for the Dodson Coyotes, the team was able to do something that had not been done in over in 53 years.

Dodson won their first divisional game since 1966, according to Dodson Public Schools. The team was able to defeat the Richey-Lambert Fusion in overtime on Thursday, February 21.

"It was pretty exciting, you would've thought we had won the state title or something," Dodson Head Coach Frank Benson said with a laugh.

The Coyotes would go on to fall to the Scobey Spartans 79-31 on Friday, February 22, and 61-50 to the MonDak Thunder on Saturday, February 23.

Coach Benson talked about what he saw from his team in terms of growth this season.

"We grew a lot this year, like every year before," Coach Benson said. "The first year, we won one game and one of our goals was to win a game at the district tournament and we won and took fourth. This year our goal was to get a win at divisionals and maybe play Saturday night at divisionals, but we did win a game at divisionals. Every year we do something new, so the only thing left is making state."

In the team's win over Richey-Lambert, Dodson would overcome an 11 point deficit in the third period. The team was led by Corbin Lone Bear who had a 22 point, 14 double-double. Lone Bear also had four steals.

Shaun Ball had nine points and four rebounds. Tyrese Messerly had nine points, four assists and four rebounds. Caleb Ditmar had seven points. Jeramiah Benson had four points and five rebounds. Zerek Jones had four points and three rebounds. Michael Jaynes had two points and three rebounds.

Richey-Lambert was able to score 22 points in the first period, while holding Dodson to 13. Dodson would cut into the Fusion's lead by outscoring them 15-10 in the second. The score was 32-28.

"Richey-Lambert was fast," Coach Benson said. "They were quick and played like football players. We were taller but they were fast."

The Fusion lead would grow to 11 points midway through the third period, as the team outscored Dodson 13-9. The score was 45-37 at the end of the third. The Coyotes would bounce back outscoring Richey-Lambert 13-5 in the fourth period, tying the game with a reverse layup from Lone Bear late in the game.

"They started to slow down and stall a little early," Coach Benson said.

With Richey-Lambert stalling with an eight point lead, Dodson's pressure defense finally took it's toll on the Fusion.

"We were able to force turnovers down the stretch," Coach Benson said. "Being pressured the whole game affected them late in the game."

Dodson would edge the Fusion by outscoring them 7-6 in the overtime period. Jones scored on a game winning layup with five seconds remaining after receiving a pass from Ball. Ditmar hit a trey and Lone Bear had a two point field goal earlier in overtime.

Dodson fell to Scobey for the third time this season in the next round. The Coyotes were led by Ball who scored eight points and had four rebounds. Jones and Juliun Benson each scored six points. Messerly had five points, LoneBear had three points and Dwight Werk had three points.

Scobey's offense rolled to 26 points in the first quarter and 27 in the second while the Spartan defense only allowed nine points and eight points in the same time span. The halftime score was 53-17. Scobey outscored Dodson 26-14 in the second half.

"They got out on us early and they were hitting shots like I've never seen them hit shots before," Coach Benson said.

The Coyote offense stalled early in the next game against MonDak, as Dodson fell behind 21-6 in the opening quarter of the consolation semi-finals. The Coyotes would climb back into the game in the second period scoring 17 to MonDak's nine. MonDak would again top Dodson in the third with a 15-8 run. Dodson would end their season outscoring MonDak 19-16 in the fourth period.