D-NH boys defeat familiar postseason rival

DIKE – Dike-New Hartford's boys basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter of a 51-49 victory over West Fork on Thursday in Dike.
 
The win is the first for the Wolverines against West Fork, after the Warhawks claimed the first four meetings in the two teams' history, including three postseason clashes.
 
"We talked about it being a tournament-type game," D-NH head coach Greg Moore said, "where you get against a team that's coached very well and has a huge tradition of being very good. … We needed to come out right away. We had a few unforced turnovers that were costly in the first half but we did a better job in the fourth quarter."
 
Cade Fuller led the Wolverines (11-1) with 15 points and Dane Fuller added all 10 of his points in a fourth quarter surge that swung the game from a 6-point Warhawks lead to a 5-point Wolverines lead midway through the final quarter.
 
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West Fork (9-4) rallied with an 8-4 run, capped by Zach Martinek free throws to close the gap to 50-49 with 29 seconds left. Dane Fuller hit just one of two free throws on the other end to push D-NH's lead back to two points, setting up a tense sequence with 12 seconds left.
 
Martinek lost his footing trying to circle around to the basket looking for a bucket to tie, turning over the ball to Parker Kiewiet who was quickly fouled. But Kiewiet's one-and-one missed and the Warhawks rebounded again with a chance to go the length of the court in 3.6 seconds for a tie.
 
Moore put Colton Harberts on the inbounder at the baseline, but West Fork was able to fling a prayer to Brayden Vold, who drove to the bucket but couldn't get a shot up before Ryan Moore streaked in to knock the ball away as time expired.
 
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PHOTOS: West Fork at D-NH basketball