Bowsher trips Scott for 72-52 win

Guerreros to faceoff in City title game

Bowsher's Dajuan King tries to get past Scott's Chris Harris in Friday night's City League semifinal at Waite’s fieldhouse.

THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
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Bowsher's Dajuan King tries to get past Scott's Chris Harris in Friday night's City League semifinal at Waite’s fieldhouse.

Bowsher had four players reach double figures in scoring Friday night as the balanced Rebels ran away with a City League semifinal victory.

Senior Aundre Kizer led the way with a game-high 24 points as Bowsher knocked off Scott 72-52 at Waite.

Dajuan King scored 18 points, while Cameron White and Nate Allen each chipped in with 13 points.

“We are a great all-around team,” Kizer said. “That's why I think we are the best in the City. This feels great. I've never experienced anything like this before. We have all the confidence in the world.”

Bowsher (16-5), the No. 2 seed, advances to face Start for the City championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Waite. The Spartans upset top seed and defending champion Rogers 54-53 in the first semifinal.

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“With the three scorers who we have, we have a good nucleus,” Bowsher coach Joe Guerrero said. “We have three guys who all could be our leading scorer on any night.”

The teams split during the regular season with Bowsher defeating Scott 99-94 on Dec. 14. The Bulldogs avenged that loss with a 77-66 on Jan. 25.

Scott (10-9) had a one-point lead after the first quarter. But Bowsher put together an 11-4 run to take a 37-30 lead with 2:01 left in the first half. Bowsher (16-5) never trailed again.

Kizer scored 10 of his points in the third quarter. His basket inside with 3:15 left in the game completed an 8-0 spurt that gave the Rebels a 46-36 lead.

“I took control,” Kizer said. “They told me to go to the high post and I got a lot of easy buckets. I credit all my teammates.”

Bowsher's Aundre Kizer goes to the floor against Scott's Jermul Richardson. Kizer led the Rebels with 24 points.

Bryson Collins scored a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, while Jermal Richardson added 10 points.

Scott coach Chris Dames said his team missed too many layups.

“They were uncontested, point-blank shots and that's just a lack of focus,” Dames said. “We played with no urgency on defense tonight. We couldn't get a stop.”

Dames said he believes his team may have been distracted by Start's upset over Rogers.

“We might have looked right past [Bowsher],” he said.

Guerrero will square off against his brother Gil, who coaches at Start, in the title game. Joe said he and his brother watched brothers Jim and John Harbaugh compete in the Super Bowl.

“Gil and I talked about how neat that would be,” Guerrero said. “But we knew one of us would have to play Rogers, which is the cream of the crop in the league. But it has worked out. “We've gotten to that point. So we'll see.”

The Rebels outscored the Bulldogs 20-13 in the second quarter. Allen scored eight of the points, including two 3 pointers, in the decisive quarter. King also chipped with seven, including two threes. King and Allen each had 11 points at the break as Bowsher seized a 38-32 lead.

Collins scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and also had seven of his 11 rebounds in the first half.

Scott pulled within two points early in the third quarter. But Bowsher again took charge with a 10-0 run. White, who finished with nine rebounds, had a put-back to give the Rebels a 48-36 lead with 2:42 left in the third.

Guerrero said the key to win was White with his ball handling, and distribution. “He runs things and calms us down,” Guerrero said.

Collins scored 14 points in the first half — four points more than he averages.

Kizer hit two 3 pointers during a pivotal 11-4 run that gave the Rebels a seven-point lead with 2:01 left in the first half.

“I thought our patience on offense was the difference against their zone,” Guerrero said.

Contact Mark Monroe at:

mmonroe@theblade.com,

419-724-6354 or on

Twitter @MonroeBlade.