Photo by Morgen Orr Dreher big men Aaron Johnson (44) and Dominique Nathaniel (40) combine to block the shot of BC's Oneal Jones. Using their vaunted three- point shooting, the Dreher Blue Devils outlasted Brookland- Cayce January 16, 56- 49. Led by Chris Brown's 15 points and Dominique Nathaniel's 13, the Blue Devils were able to score enough from the outside to defeat B- C's four players in double figure scoring.

Dreher opened the game with a 14- 3 lead, compliments of an early hot streak by Nathaniel that included a three- pointer and a fast break dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. Scoring seven of the team's 14 first quarter points, Nathaniel carried the Blue Devils to the early advantage. But B- C's Jonathan Rumph answered Dreher's fast start by scoring seven points late in the quarter as the Bearcats scored the final eight points to bring the first quarter score to 14- 11.

Two quick fouls put B- C's Oneal Jones on the bench in the first quarter. His return in the second sparked the Bearcats' offensive attack. Jones scored seven points in the second while Isaiah McLellan added five more to pace the Bearcats.

But Dreher, as always, countered with deep three- pointers from Brown and Dominic Boyd to keep pace with the surging Bearcats. Jones made a runner with 2:12 left in the half to give B- C its first lead at 28- 26, but the half ended tied at 29.

A quick 6- 0 run to start the third quarter gave Dreher the advantage in the third quarter. James Whitehead scored four points for the Blue Devils inside, and Brown and Hawkins tossed in three's to push the Dreher lead. But McLellan and Jake Benton battled back inside scoring nine points between them to give B- C a brief lead with 2:50 left in the third.

Dreher retook the lead on a Nathaniel jumper and held a two- point lead going into the fourth quarter until Jones launched a half- court shot at the buzzer that banked in. B- C took a 43- 42 lead after three with the crowd erupting and giving the home team some much needed momentum.

The fourth quarter, however, failed to live up to the heightened energy of the crowd as the teams combined to score just 20 points down the stretch. Early three- pointers from Brown and Derrick Halback pushed Dreher back into the lead while B- C struggled to score at all.

The Bearcats did bring the score back to a 50- 49 deficit with 1:44 to play, but Dreher used a Nathaniel jumper, a steal and lay up by Boyd and a thunderous fast break dunk by Aaron Johnson to finish off the Bearcats in the final moments. B- C managed six points in the final quarter as Dreher pulled out a seven-point win, taking sole possession of first place in Region V- 3A.