Defense fuels Raider comeback

Ratcheting up the defensive pressure helped Lomega spoil Jared Reese’s debut as Dover’s head coach.

The Raiders dominated the third quarter Friday to erase a deficit and then pull away in a 66-48 win at Dover.

After an ultra-successful decade in Kingfisher, Reese made the move nine miles north to take over the Longhorn program.

His team led 27-23 at the half, but the momentum didn’t carry over into the third quarter.

“We just played a lot better defensively in the third quarter,” said Lomega’s Justin Edsall. “And that allowed us to get some easy transition buckets.”

It led to a 21-5 run in the quarter as Dover managed just one field goal.

“We weren’t able to handle their pressure very well,” Reese said. “The press really bothered us and is something we’ll have to continue to get better at handling.”

Junior Chase Burton scored nine points in the third while Ben Marsh added five more.

However, it was the play of a senior who sparked the run, Edsall said.

“Trevor Lentz really made a lot of great plays in the press,” he said. “He was everywhere.”

Dover’s offensive picked up steam in the fourth as freshman Casen Buck scored 10 of his teamhigh 15 points.

However, Lomega was able to keep pace and even pull away.

Burton led all scorers with 27 points. He scored at least five in every quarter.

Marsh poured in 22 more for the Raiders, including eight in the fourth quarter.

Lance Yost added eight points.

Dover got 13 points from Nathan Cohee. He scored 10 points in the first half as Dover staked its early lead.

Jessy Price added 11 more for the Longhorns.