Citizen Staff/James Wold
Beaver Dam forward Dan Docter, back, puts up a shot over Big Foot's Michael Schauf (30) and Johnny Keeler (34) during Friday's second game of the Beaver Dam Invitational.
Beaver Dam, with three underclassmen in the starting lineup, is inevitably going to find ruts like the one it experienced after halftime Friday night.
If the Golden Beavers can respond like they did in a 57-49 boys basketball win over Walworth Big Foot, coach Tim Ladron won’t mind.
After the Chiefs (0-1) used a 14-3 run to take a 34-29 lead, BD collected itself and went on an 18-2 binge.
“We’re going to run into that stuff,” Ladron said. “They’re not quite used to finishing tight games but we’ve got Dan (Docter) and Tal (Diekvoss) to rely on.”
BD’s senior duo, which has played extensively since they were freshmen, took control down the stretch. Docter finished with 13 of his game-high 18 after halftime to go with 10 rebounds.
Diekvoss hit all four foul shots he took in the final two minutes, the saving grace in BD’s 6-for-13 effort from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Diekvoss finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals while sparking a determined defensive effort in the first half.
“Our half-court defense was very good,” Ladron said. “We had some trouble getting back but we got that fixed.
“You give up 20 points in a half and that’s pretty good defense.”
The Chiefs, tabbed as preseason favorites in the Southern Rock Valley by one publication, were understandably sluggish at the start. Big Foot got just three practices in after taking the Division 4 football title last week.
“We had the minimum,” Chiefs coach Dan Dowden said. “We had our chances and we took the lead but they came right back with a big run on us.”
The Beavers suffered from a lack of movement on both ends of the court and a quick trigger on offense. Combined with the transition breakdowns, it forced Ladron to call for time.
“I think we had five straight trips where we took a three,” Ladron said. “We talked about getting it inside to Danny and he started sealing really well.”
Docter had 10 of his points during the decisive spurt. Jake Heuer had six of his 10 points after halftime and added five rebounds to go with five assists despite foul trouble.
“We made that run and we got reenergized,” Ladron said.
Beaver Dam, which hit 21 of 48 shots (43.8 percent), draws rival Waupun in tonight’s title bout.
Alec McGreevy had 15 points for the Chiefs, who face DeForest for third place earlier in the evening.
BEAVER DAM 57, WALWORTH BIG FOOT 49
Walworth Big Foot 10 10 16 13 - 49
Beaver Dam 16 8 14 19 - 57
WALWORTH BIG FOOT (49) -- Greben 9, Dowden 9, Kunes 6, Nagel 4, Schauf 3, Walker 3, McGreevy 15, Totals 6 7-12 49.
BEAVER DAM (57) --Tr. Diekvoss 5, T. Schmitt 3, N. Schmitt 3, Shelton 2, Greatens 2, Aplin 2, Docter 18, Ta. Diekvoss 12, Heuer 10, Totals 6 9-18 57.
3-Point Goals-Walworth Big Foot 6 (Greben 1, Dowden 3, Schauf 1, McGreevy 1), Beaver Dam 6 (Tr. Diekvoss 1, T. Schmitt 1, N. Schmitt 1, Ta. Diekvoss 2, Heuer 1). Total fouls-Walworth Big Foot 20, Beaver Dam 13.