Jack Ulwelling led the Derby with a 14-point night to escape an upset bid by Dodge City in a 58-53 win in the first round of the Dodge City Tournament of Champions on Jan. 19.
With the score tied at 50-50 with just over two minutes to go, Ulwelling hit a three-pointer to give Derby the lead. Kaeson Fisher-Brown hit a key mid-range jumper on the next possession to continue a quick 5-0 jab for the Panthers.
Ulwelling forced a tie-up on the next Dodge City possession to give Derby the ball and was fouled. He hit a free throw to give the Panthers a 56-53 lead with a minute to go. The three-pointer was the shot the Panthers had been waiting for throughout the game, as the team shot 39 percent from the floor.
Derby capitalized off turnovers with 25 points on 22 Dodge City turnovers but had some turnover issues of their own, especially in the first half. The Panthers turned the ball over ten times, and the Red Demons scored 14 points off the turnovers.
Dodge City kept pace with the Panthers for most of the game and entered halftime tied at 29-29. The Red Demons were able to build a lead with key stops and defensive rebounds. The Red Demons had 25 defensive boards in the ballgame. Jaiden Springer was dominant off the bench for Dodge City, leading all scorers with 17 points.
Leading 41-40 in the third quarter, the Red Demons hit a layup at the buzzer and opened the final quarter with a three to build the lead as Derby went on an extensive scoring drought. The Panthers could not get the game-changing shot and were held scoreless in the fourth quarter until the 5:35 mark.
After the Panthers tied the game at 48-48 with 4:14 to go, the momentum started to swing in Derby’s favor, and the big shots started to fall. Derby shared the ball well throughout the game with 16 assists led by eight by Fisher-Brown. The senior finished with eight points, but the attention he got offensively helped his teammates get open. Ulwelling, Mason Anderson and Dallas Metzger all finished in double digits.
Derby will advance in the tournament and face Maize South at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 20. Maize South handed Derby its only loss on Jan 20.
DODGE CITY 17 12 14 10 - 53
PANTHERS: Ulwelling, 14; Metzger, 12; Anderson, 12; Fisher-Brown, 8; Franklin, 7; Chadwick, 3; Arnett, 2.
RED DEMONS: Springer, 17; Unzueta, 10; Taylor, 9; Schulte, 7; Buller, 3; Perez, 3; Okoro, 2; Brito, 2
Cody Friesen is the sports editor for the Derby Informer. Contact him with sports tips at sports@derbyinformer.com, and follow @Derby_Sports on Twitter for the latest updates.
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