But as the old saying goes, the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins the game.

Coach Trey Pender's Shawnee club went into Dongola and took home a 59-53 win.

Even though it isn't a South Egyptian Conference game that will count in the standings, it was still important for this young coach trying to build a winning attitude in his program.

The Redskins broke a 50-50 tie in the final minutes to improve to 7-14 on the season.

Dongola and head coach Russ Marsh are still searching for their second win of the campaign as they sit at 1-19.

“This used to be a bigger rivalry back before Covid and then it died down some. But now I think it (the rivalry) is back,” said Coach Pender. “I teach my kids to play the game the right way. I told them you have to learn how to win and my seniors stepped up. I'm proud of my boys.”

The particulars came down to Shawnee committing less turnovers than the Demons and they outscored the hosts from the foul line as they snapped a five-game losing streak in the process.

The Demons have lost eight-straight since a December 16 win over Joppa-Maple Grove.

Shawnee won the contest despite missing their first 12 field goal attempts and finishing 23-of-67 from the floor (34.3 percent) and 6-of-18 from the 3-point line.

How they managed to win was by forcing the Demons into 23-turnovers.

“We win defensively, that what I tell the boys. We have to play defensive basketball and our offense will come,” said Coach Pender. “When we play good defense, we will play better offense.”

The top gun for the Redskins was 6-3 senior guard Brody Wills who led all scorers with 32-points, including three of the six successful 3-pointers by Shawnee.

Freshman Kyler Jewell was next on the scoring chart with 11-points while junior Cole Pender and senior Ryan Libbert finished with seven and six-points respectively.

Kayman Ford, a senior forward, added a basket and junior Noah Mayberry added a single free throw to round out the Redskins' point total.

For the Demons, 6-9 senior center Blake Herron scored 30-points and grabbed 13-rebounds for Coach Marsh.

Many of his points came on offensive rebound put-backs for points.

Five-eleven freshman Caleb Gaddis netted 17-points for Dongola.

Two other players; sophomore Daniel Holderfield and senior DJ Higgins added three-points apiece to the finished product.

Herron scored the first three baskets for Dongola to open the game.

A score in the lane was followed by a baseline dive for a lay up before sticking back a rebound for a 6-0 lead that forced a Shawnee timeout.

It took a few minutes but the Redskins responded with a 9-0 run to take a 12-10 first horn lead.

Wills scored five of the points, including a 3-pointer on an inbounds pass which was followed by a transition basket by Pender for the two-point advantage.

“Our biggest thing is that we couldn't get back on defense,” said Coach Marsh. “They beat us down the floor early in the game. We had control in the first quarter and then they took the lead on us at the end of the first.”

(CONTINUED)

Herron notched his best quarter of the night in the second as he added 10 more points to have 18 at intermission.

All came on the inside as he scored on nice moves in the paint and he added a rebound score late in the quarter.

Wills, however, also had 10-points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer and a shot from the right baseline as the Redskins took their largest first half advantage at 26-16.

The late Herron bucket and a banked home 3-pointer at the buzzer by Gaddis cut the Dongola deficit to just 30-25 at the half.

“Brody (Wills) has been with me since I coached junior high with the seniors and I want them to play basketball the way I was taught how to play,” said Coach Pender. “Tonight made me proud. Yes, there were mistakes made but in the end they earned the win.”

The Demons got to within one-possession three different times in the third quarter.

The final of the three came from a 6-0 run with two scores from Herron and two free throws from Gaddis to make it 40-39 Shawnee at the 2:28 mark.

Each time the Redskins responded with points.

A Gaddis 3-pointer from the left wing and a shot from the right corner from Libbert closed the frame at 46-41 Shawnee.

The Redskins got a score to open the fourth quarter from Wills to push the lead to 48-41 before the Demons made a 9-2 run to even the score.

Herron scored two of the baskets then Gaddis converted a Redskins' turnover into a fast break bucket.

A 3-pointer from the left corner by Holderfield tied the game at 50 with 4:58 remaining.

But the rest of the game and the final outcome belonged to Shawnee.

Jewell hit his second 3-pointer in the second half on the next possession and consecutive baskets from Wills pushed the lead back up to 57-50.

In between the two Wills baskets, Higgins made a steal for Dongola and headed for a potential lay up but his shot was rejected from behind by Jewell.

One more basket by Herron and 1-of-2 free throws from Gaddis ended the Demons' scoring.

“Our big kid (Herron) got a 30-point game for us. Gaddis had a nice game for us as well,” said Coach Marsh. “We just have to clean up some things, the mistakes we make during the game.”

Dongola missed three consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute and Wills closed out the scoring with two more free throws with :11.7 left.

Coach Marsh's club hit just 23-of-59 shots overall (38.9 percent) and the 23-turnovers were too much to overcome.

“Things are getting better and I've seen it since 'Day One',” said Coach Marsh, who came back to coaching this season after a hiatus. “Our kids work hard and you can see it in practice that we're getting better.”

Shawnee (59) - Wills 10 3 3-5 32, Libbert 2 0 2-4 6, Ford 1 0 0-0 2, Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Mayberry 0 0 1-4 7, Ellet 0 0 0-0 0, Jewell 2 2 1-2 11. 2FG-17, 3FG-6, FT-7-15, PF-14.
Dongola (53) - Gaddis 4 2 3-8 17, Higgins 0 1 0-0 3, Herron 15 0 0-0 30, Pollard 0 0 0-0 0, Holderfield 0 1 0-2 3, Wiseman 0 0 0-0 0, Neal 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-19, 3FG-4, FT-3-10, PF-18.
Fouled Out – Herron - Dongola.
Technical Fouls – None.