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Dodge Gamecocks vs. Howells HoosiersFeb. 12, 2023, at Dodge - Championship Game
Summary: It was reminiscent of years gone by. Howells in their black and orange battling Dodge in their blue and white. The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Howells took an early 10-6 lead on a 3-pointer by Brady Brester. Dodge roared back to take a lead that peaked at 24-17 after two Ben Franzluebbers free throws midway through the first half. The game turned in the final minutes before halftime. Dodge’s Bryan Ruzek, who accounted for 9 straight Gamecock points, scored with 1:02 left in the first half to reduce the Hoosier advantage to 35-31. Howells went inside to Luke Hegemann, who converted a 3-point play. That was followed by a 3-pointer from teammate Luke Rocheford right before the buzzer for a 41-33 halftime lead for Howells. Justin Sindlear scored the first bucket of the second half for the Hoosiers to push the lead to 10, and Howells never looked back as its lead held steady. The closest Dodge got the rest of the way was 5 points after a Casey Wisnieski basket with 15:20 remaining, but Howells answered with a 3 from Tyler Polacek and a 3-point play from Kevin Janata to quickly push the lead back into double digits. The win, which avenged a 1-point Gamecock victory during the regular season, gave Howells their fifth Golden Tractor Trophy and broke a string of four straight championships for Dodge. Howells started the year 0-3 before winning six straight games on their way to the title. Rocheford led the champs with 20 points, with Hegemann contributing 18. Dodge was led by the 22 points from Bryan Ruzek and 16 from Casey Wisnieski.
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