Just like the Wolverines, the Dexter boys’ basketball team went down to Ohio and returned to Michigan with a victory. The Dreadnaughts turned a hot start into a 47-40 win over Toledo Woodward on Saturday.
Dexter led 18-15 after the first quarter and built a 32-20 halftime lead. Woodward outscored the Dreads 8-5 in the third quarter and 12-10 in the fourth but couldn’t overcome the visitor’s big lead.
“We were proud of our effort on both ends of the floor,” said Dexter Coach Jason Rushton. “We did a great job being outsized and handling their post play as well as taking care of the rebound battle. We shot the ball well in the first half and handled their pressure and executed down the stretch, which is all you can ask in a road trip like this.”
Evan Haroldson led Dexter with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Reeves Taylor added 11 points with 6 rebounds.
Xavier Cook played a great game against Woodward’s size and added 8 points. “He (Cook) did an unbelievable job boxing out their big guys so we could secure the boards,” Rushton said.
AJ Vaughn and Jack DeMerell hit some big shots for the Dreadnaughts.
“We have a big week ahead of us, but we will continue to take it one day at a time in our process to develop our young guys and get better as a team,” said Rushton.
The Dreadnaughts’ “big week” includes Friday’s showdown with rival Chelsea at Dexter. The varsity girls’ game is at 5:30 p.m. with the boys’ contest at 7 p.m. Dexter boys’ team hosts Saline on Tuesday.
Earlier last week, host Williamston outscored Dexter 22-11 in the fourth quarter in a 57-45 win over the shorthanded Dreadnaughts.
“We went on the road with nine guys (down one starter and our sixth man) so we were looking for guys to step up,” said Rushton. “We battled, but just didn’t have enough in the tank to get the job done.
“Williamston shot the ball well in the second half, and we took some uncharacteristically bad shots that led to transition points for them.”
Haroldson led Dexter with 20 points and 8 rebounds while Taylor added another double/double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
