WESTERVILLE — Bloom-Carroll senior Evan Dozer is having a tremendous season, which has been well documented, but on Tuesday, he not only took his game to another level with his grit and determination, but more importantly, he willed his team to a victory.

Dozer, who finished with a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two assists, helped rally the Bulldogs back from a 10-point, first-quarter deficit by making play after play against Jonathan Alder, and when the game went to overtime, Dozer stepped up his game even more.

In the extra session, he had two assists, two rebounds, and two huge steals in the final 20 seconds to help the Bulldogs secure a hard-fought 45-38 Central District Division II district semifinal win over the Pioneers at Westerville North High School.

The No. 3 seed Bulldogs (23-2) will face fourth-seeded Linden McKinley for the district championship at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at Ohio Dominican University.

“We were down 10, and it was not the way we envision it, but we battled back,” Dozer said. “We stayed strong, kept our composure, made plays and we played well in overtime.”

With Bloom-Carroll leading 39-38 with 20 seconds left in overtime, Dozer made 1 of 2 free throws, and after his miss, he stole the ball. Beau Wisecarver then made 1 of 2 free throws to give Bloom-Carroll a 41-38 lead, and then Dozer sealed it when he stole the inbounds pass.

He was eventually fouled with 13.8 seconds remaining and calmly sank both foul shots to push Bloom-Carroll’s lead to 43-38. Wisecarver and Jackson Wyant split a pair of free throws in the final 11 seconds to completely shut the door.

Dozer, who is a tireless worker, said these high-intensity games are the reason he puts so much time and effort into the game. He understands at crunch time, his team is counting on him.

“I spend day in and day out working on basketball, three times a day, sometimes four times, putting work in,” Dozer said. “This his is why I do it, for games like this, for this tournament, and we aren’t done yet.”

Bloom-Carroll coach Joe Goodyear said nothing Dozer does surprises him.

“Evan is a great player,” Goodyear said. “He is as good it gets on both ends of the floor, and in every category, you can dot the I and cross the T with him. I’m just glad he is on our team.”

While Dozer’s play was fantastic, several of his teammates were on point, as well, including Wisecarver, who finished with only four points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and was solid on defense going against a 6-foot-5 post player the entire game and holding his own.

“Beau is a guy that you may not see in the point column, but he is the reason we get that W in the other column,” Dozer said. “He is a great athlete, and he does all the little things well.”

Things weren’t going well for the Bulldogs in the first quarter as the Pioneers connected on four 3-pointers and outrebounded the Bulldogs 9-4 to take a 16-6 first-quarter lead.

However, in the second quarter, the Dozer began to assert himself and Bloom-Carroll’s defense was stifling. They held the Pioneers scoreless, outscoring them 14-0 to take a 20-16 halftime lead.

Dozer opened the second quarter by hitting a 3-pointer, and after DaShan Clark made two free throws, Dozer scored inside, then converted a steal into a layup. Jared Rose then connected on a 3-pointer and Dozer closed out the half with another steal and layup right before the halftime buzzer.

Both defenses were stingy in the third quarter. Dozer scored Bloom-Carroll’s four points, but the Pioneers rallied to tie it at 24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jonathan Alder opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to take a 27-24 lead, but Dozer answered right back with a rebound bucket and Rose scored inside to give the Bulldogs a 28-27 lead. After the Pioneers converted a three-point play to give them a 30-28 advantage, Dozer scored inside to tie it.

The Pioneers retook the lead, but Bloom-Carroll was able to wrestle the lead away again after Rose drained a jumper and Clark scored off a steal, giving the Bulldogs a 34-32 lead with two minutes left. The Pioneers tied it on a rebound basket with 40 seconds left in regulation.

“Jonathan Alder knocked us out of the tournament last year, and I knew how bad we wanted this game, and we worked so hard this week because we didn’t want to feel that feeling again,” Wisecarver said. “Once it went to overtime, we knew we were going to win.”

Rose finished with 11 points and five rebounds and Clark added six points for the Bulldogs.

Bloom-Carroll’s defense held the Pioneers to just 11 of 40 shooting from the field and forced 15 turnovers.

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.