The Dexter boys’ basketball team lost a basketball game last week in a District semifinal at Skyline High School. But we really should rephrase that. The Dreadnaughts were outscored in a basketball game last week – because lost or loss or defeated just doesn’t fit here.
The Dreadnaughts had a strange season, challenging in many ways and unlucky in other ways. Both challenging and unlucky were part of last week’s final game for the Dreadnaughts but so were gritty, toughness and determination. The scoreboard is one way to measure a performance, but what the Dreadnaughts were able to accomplish and overcome isn’t a number or statistic.
With the help of Dexter head coach Jason Rushton, let’s pull back the curtain on Dexter’s 38-36 loss on March 9 to Brighton in a Division 1 District semifinal game. There is more here than just numbers on a scoreboard.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted to end the season, or maybe it was exactly the way we wanted to go out,” Rushton says. Meaning they went out fighting and leaving everything they had on and even off the court. “You can look at it either way, but either way you look at it, it wasn’t meant to be for us this year,” Rushton continued.
The Dreadnaughts entered the game already down a player – something they were quite used to this season. Senior Cole Arnedt showed up with possible pneumonia but decided to give it a shot – yeah, that’s pretty gritty to say the least.
“He could barely get up and down the court, but gave us a couple of minutes of everything he had,” Rushton said. “He spent the rest of the night cheering on his teammates and leading from the bench.
“Externally, spectators may not have seen this, but internally our core values showed strongly throughout this game.”
Early in the first quarter, on Dexter’s fourth possession of the game, senior captain Cal Bavineau took an inadvertent knee to the groin. He was down for a minute, got back up and shook it off like he had done many times in his Dexter career. But a few plays later he was fouled on a drive to the basket and went down.
“He got up, shot his free throws and then on the jog back he looked at us and said something wasn’t right,” Rushton said. “We played without him for the second quarter and battled to a five-point halftime lead.”
Rushton praised Ty Rychener’s play and toughness throughout this game.
“He really began to show his leadership in that second quarter as he took things into his own hands and made some big plays for us,” Rushton said.
But during halftime, Rushton was approached by assistant coach and Dexter Athletic Director Mike Bavineau, who also is Cal’s father. He told Rushton that Cal was more than likely done for the game.
“So we would have to play the second half without the guy who has led us all year; the point guard for the last three years, the one who has never missed a practice or a minute of a game throughout his high school career,” Rushton said. “We talked about just finding a way, like we had all season long, to have guys step up and gut it out.”
As the Dreadnaughts warmed up for the second half, Bavineau was flat on his back next to the scorer’s table (trainers telling him he should leave and go to the ER). Well, that wasn’t happening – the quarterback of the football team wasn’t about to leave behind his teammates.
“The buzzer sounded and it was time for our guys to take the floor and start the second half,” Rushton said. “Cal jumps to his feet and checks himself in. People in the bleachers may not have noticed but being around him the last three years, I could see he wasn’t moving like himself. He could barely walk and he couldn’t pressure the ball handler on defense like he’s done so well the last three years, he couldn’t play aggressively in a gap defensively, and he couldn’t get any lift on shots he has made for us all year.”
Regardless of all that, Cal Bavineau took the court and ended up making one of the toughest plays all year. With Dexter down a point, Bavineau blitzed the ball handler, got a steal and took it in for a layup and got fouled. The point guard who could barely walk just put his team on his back and in the lead with 1 minute left in the game.
“The next possession there was a loose ball – we knew Cal wasn’t himself when this play happened because he never lost a battle for a loose ball in three years,” Rushton said. “But this time the ball bounced their way and they found the open guy who knocked down a triple to give Brighton a 38-36 win.
“You can say that had we been healthy, the outcome may have been different – I say the season ended just the way it should have,” Rushton said. “This team gave everything they had for one game.”
Following the game, Bavineau went to the ER and had surgery. He is now recovering.
“Each group of seniors leaves their own legacy in a program like ours – this group’s legacy was toughness,” Rushton said. “It didn’t matter how many players we had, or what the circumstances were throughout our year, this group was always ready to play and loved to compete.”
