End of the Year Player Interviews

All players grades 7-12 are asked to sign up to have an end of the year meeting with Coach Allen.

Sign ups are located on Coach Allen's classroom door.

Meetings will be before and after school in ten minute blocks from 3/29 - 4/6.

Varsity Awards Banquet

Varsity Awards Banquet will be this Sunday (4/2) at 5PM in the 7th Grade Commons.

All players from all teams are welcome to come along with managers.  Player's and manager's meals will be paid for.

Families and parents are also invited to be with us to celebrate the season.  The cost will be $5 for all non-players and non-managers.

There will be pizza served.

Pierz 3 on 3

3/14/17: St. Cloud Cathedral @St. John's University (Playoffs - Round 3)

Varsity: L (53-49)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

A tremendous boys basketball season came to an end for the Pine City Dragons on Tuesday, March 14 at St. Johns in Collegeville. The curtains closed on the Dragons’ once-in-a-lifetime campaign when they lost to the #4 team in the state in a game that came down to the final minute. Pine City lost the sub-section championship and a shot to play for the rights to go to State, but what they gained may have been even more valuable; the Dragons now know that they can play with anybody.

St. Cloud Cathedral 53, Pine City 49

The Crusaders were ranked the #1 team in the state in the preseason poll, and have been viewed as a powerhouse all year. Buoyed by a tall and talented frontcourt consisting of two 6’-6” players, Michael Schaefer and Mitchell Plombon, the Crusaders looked like a nightmare matchup on paper. Surprisingly to some, the Dragons controlled the tempo of the contest, led by three at the half, and actually out-rebounded the Crusaders in the game.

“Pine City’s community came out, the students came out, had the pep band there, it was a great atmosphere,” said Dragons head coach Kyle Allen. “Really proud of the boys and the way they came out and executed the game plan. Up three at the half, we were really excited. I thought we had played well and executed well. They hit us for a quick five or seven points to start the second half, but it went back and forth for a while. Neither team had a substantial lead at any point in time. Came out and again kind of did what was asked of us. I was really, really proud.”

While the Dragons held the tandem of Plombon and Schaefer to just ten points in the second half, it was the starting backcourt of the Crusaders that went a combined 5-8 from beyond the three point arc to key a run that would ultimately be the difference in the game.

“It was a 50/50 game,” Allen said of the even feel between the teams. “We out-rebounded them, which I thought was very impressive for us. We tried to make someone else beat us besides the two bigs. You know, Jackson Jangula goes 3-4 from three in the second half and Keaton LeClaire goes 2-4 and hit some big shots. That was the difference in the second half. They also scored some points off of turnovers, which didn’t help as well. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys though, their focus, their energy, was all great, and we went in there and proved a little bit to ourselves, and maybe to everyone else, that we can play with the best.”

After a season-high point total in the previous game, it was clear that the Crusaders came in aiming to stop sophomore shooter Nick Hansmann. The Crusaders put their best defender squarely in Hansmann’s face all night, and held him to just three points. Clay Logan led the Dragons in scoring with 18, and a late three by Jake Rademacher made him the only other Dragon in double digits with 11. Logan and Rademacher were named to the All-Section team.

“They really keyed in on Nick,” said Allen. “He had had a nice game previously against Milaca with his shooting, so Clay and Jake took on more of the scoring mode, which was fine. We have a lot of guys that can score the ball. I also thought Damien Schwab came in off of the bench and gave us some really vital minutes; he was second on the team in rebounds. Give credit to Nick, they really found ways to try to isolate him on the offensive end, they put their best defender on him, but he was our leading rebounder so he still found ways to contribute. Clay Logan led us in assists with four. I just thought we played well within ourselves and well within our concepts. Jake Lunceford had a rebound game, did well on the offensive end for us, and again continued to do well on the defensive end.”

One of the more memorable moments in the contest came when the 6’7” Schwab stuffed one of Cathedral’s twin towers and earned a jump ball. Schwab’s inside presence was felt at key times in the contest, and throughout the playoff run. Senior Austin Hansmann had a timely three pointer, and fellow senior Adam Seals had a nice driving layup to go along with a pair of made free throws for four points.

“A huge thank you to our seniors,” added Allen. “Adam and Austin have been with me a long time. They’re my first group to go 7-12 with me. It’s fun to look back on the program and see where it was when we started and where we are now, competed in a sub-section championship game with them. That was a lot of fun and I’m really proud of those two. They’ve both really improved, stuck with it, and were great young men. Proud of who they’ve become and where they’re both going.”

The Dragons also got some big individual plays from several underclassmen who came in off of the bench, including Jake Adams and Seth Logan. Adams had a huge three-point play on a key possession in the second half, and Logan finished with four points as well as some key hustle plays in taking charge and saving a possession.

“In the end,” said Allen, “we talk about it all the time with the boys in our circle, in terms of what we can do, what we have the potential to do as a group and as a program, and we want to do everything we can do to continue to take steps forward. Our goals are to put a year on the banner. We want to win games, that’s our goal. Our purpose is educational and we want to create great young men, but our goal is to win games. So for us to put a year on the banner, we came really close this year. We’re excited about where we’re going. As much as it hurts in the now, we’re excited for what’s coming.”

The Dragons will return all five starters next year and have a loaded bench full of players who are eager to prove they can play. As always, the group will be very busy in the offseason working on improving. Despite a painful loss in a sub-section championship game that would have put, as coach says, a year on the banner, it’s clear that the team didn’t let notoriety go to their heads. From a national story in the Wall Street Journal to local coverage by Fox 9, KFAN, GoNews, and others, it’s clear this team’s work ethic was unaffected. If anything, it seems these Dragons now truly believe they can achieve great things. Pine City finished with a 22-7 record in 2016-17.

Food Challenge

Going out to eat as a team isn't complete until Spoo and Lunce do a food challenge!

This time?

The Meat Mountain from Arby's!

3/11/17: Milaca @St. John's University (Playoffs - Round 2)

Varsity: W (60-57)

Pine City will take on St. Cloud Cathedral at 6PM on Tuesday at St. John's University.

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

The Section 6AA playoffs are underway and the Pine City boys basketball team is excelling. The Dragons have advanced to the section semifinals for the first time in nine years and did so in thrilling fashion. Running their record to 22-6, one of the top records in school history, this group of Dragons is riding high. With wins over Mora and Milaca in the opening rounds, Pine City is just two games away from making the State Tournament.

Pine City 60, Milaca 57

After losing to the Wolves 83-61 back in January, the Dragons knew they would have to play a much better game to hang with a tough team like Milaca. The Wolves have four senior starters, were taller than the Dragons across the board, and came in ranked roughly 20 slots higher than Pine City in the QRF. The game was close throughout, with no team leading by more than six the entire contest. Pine City ran into some foul trouble late in the first half, and Milaca capitalized to take a three point lead at the break. 

“What a fun, fun atmosphere and exciting game,” Allen said. "A back and forth game but we kept it a game at half, being down three. At the half we had played 13 players in the game. It’s awesome to be able to do that. Damien Schwab really came in and did a nice job, we needed his size. They had some big boys, very physical seniors. Damien took up some space in the middle on the defensive end. A lot of our boys played well. Jake Rademacher and Nick Hansmann shot really well.”

Pine City came out firing in the second half and a three by Logan tied the game up right away. In fact, Pine City would lead for most of the second half until a late run by the Wolves had them up five with 2:30 to play. The Dragons never panicked and would make some huge plays with the game on the line. 

Nick Hansmann was spectacular all game, netting six threes including two back-to-back daggers in the final 2:30. With the game tied as the one minute mark approached, Logan got a huge steal and made a tough left-handed layup at the other end to put Pine City up by two, and up for good. After both Logan and Nathan Kleppe made a pair of clutch free throws in the final :40, the Dragons were able to hold their breath. Milaca had a good look at a buzzer-beater three that would have tied it, but the Wolves season came to an end when the shot came up short. 

“People are going to remember Nick hitting back to back threes with under two-and-a-half minutes left,” said Allen. “We were down five with two and a half to go, it was just great to see our boys never give up. They fought and never gave up. We just kept doing it our way. Never lost our composure. Showed a lot of heart and a lot of grit. Fun game to watch.”

Throughout the contest, so many players stepped up in various ways, but none bigger than Hansmann who scored a game-high 24 while going 6-11 from three. Logan finished with 13 including four in the final minute. Rademacher had 11 points and eight rebounds as the Dragons shockingly out-rebounded a taller Wolves team that had dominated the boards earlier in the season. It was truly a team win, and so many players stepped up. 

“All of the guys made plays,” said Allen. “From Seth Logan hitting a deep three, Roddy taking a huge charge, Nathan Kleppe being clutch at the line, Clay making plays, Jake Adams had a huge and-one at a big moment. The list goes on and on, it was a total team win. We had so many fans and tremendous support from the community. It was awesome.”

The biggest win of Allen’s six-year tenure has put the Dragons in the Sub-Section Championship game against St. Cloud Cathedral. The Crusaders will be a tough opponent on Tuesday, March 14. Cathedral is ranked #4 in the state and was the preseason #1 team. Pine City will have to play their best game once again to earn a victory. 

“Really excited for that game against Cathedral,” said Allen. “I hope we have a great crowd come again. We have a game plan in place and we’re ready to go. Boys are excited and it should be fun. Its going to be a good game.”

3/9/17: Mora (Playoffs - Round 1)

Varsity: W (70-57)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

The Section 6AA playoffs are underway and the Pine City boys basketball team is excelling. The Dragons have advanced to the section semifinals for the first time in nine years and did so in thrilling fashion. Running their record to 22-6, one of the top records in school history, this group of Dragons is riding high. With wins over Mora and Milaca in the opening rounds, Pine City is just two games away from making the State Tournament.

Pine City 70, Mora 57

The Dragons hosted the Mustangs on Thursday, March 9 after beating them just two weeks prior in the regular season. Mora defeated the Dragons twice last season, including in their playoff opener, so this game offered a chance at sweet redemption for the Dragons.

“Tough turnaround having just played Mora recently in a physical, gritty game,” said Coach Kyle Allen. “Mora is probably one of the better six seeds in the state. They’ve got some very talented ball players, most notably Cal Wright. Our boys stepped up to the challenge. They were excited but focused at the same time. We threw Jake Lunceford and Quentin Miklya at Cal Wright and I thought they did a good job.”

Although Wright did finish as the game’s leading scorer, Pine City used tough defense, solid effort on the boards, and timely shooting to advance to the section quarterfinal round. Pine City led 30-16 at the break and was able to withstand several Mora runs.

“Coming out right away we had three quick threes by three different players,” Allen said. “Then to start the second half, Clay Logan hit a really big three which was big for our momentum. Both teams were kind of feeling each other out in the first half but our scoring came on we came out with the victory. It was a lot of fun. So excited to see so much green in the crowd and a really loud crowd. Fun to have that for the boys, for the program and for the town. We want to give back to our fans, so we were happy to have a home playoff game.”

Logan led the Dragons with 20 points and made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to preserve the lead. Nick Hansmann was the only other player in double digits with 13, while Jake Rademacher had seven points, six assists, and five rebounds.

The win propelled the Dragons to the next round and a date with Milaca at St. Johns University in Collegeville outside of St. Cloud. That semifinal game would come right down to the wire and Pine City would win in thrilling fashion.

Fan Bus for 2nd Round Game at St. John's University

There will be a fan bus available for the 2nd round game at St. John's University on Saturday 3/11/17.

Sign up with Coach C on Friday.  First come, first serve.

Bus ride is FREE.  You must pay for your ticket.

Drake Willert: Free Throw Contest

Pine City Pioneer

3/3 @Ogilvie

Varsity: W (96-25)

JV: W (82-27)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

Becoming just the second boys basketball team in school history to finish the regular season with 20 wins, Pine City finished on a high note in one game during their final week before the postseason. The Dragons took care of business against Ogilvie on Friday, March 3 and appear ready to make some noise in the Section 6AA playoffs. 

Pine City 96, Ogilvie 25

This game was never in doubt as the Dragons built a 17-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Junior Clay Logan came out flying for Pine City, scoring the team’s first 10 points on his way to a team-high 18 for the night. During the minutes that the five starters were on the floor during the first half, Ogilvie managed just one basket. 

“Everyone got in the game, everyone got lots of minutes,” said Dragons head coach Kyle Allen. “We got some real valuable minutes to everyone on the team, which was great. Austin Hansmann led us with eight rebounds, and we focus on that. I was really happy with our defense and our rebounding, and we need to continue to focus on that as we move into the playoffs. We had a lot of guys play really well. Clay Logan had six rebounds and scored the ball really well. Konnor Jusczak ended with 12 points, four assists, five rebounds and only one turnover as the backup point guard. I thought the focus was good coming in.”

Nick Hansmann was the only other Dragon in double figures with 10, while senior Adam Seals was back after a one-game absence, and scored nine. 

Pine City will now host Mora in the opening round of the playoffs, a game that will be a rematch of last year’s opening round postseason contest that was won by the Mustangs in Mora. The Dragons just beat Mora 61-51 back on Tuesday, Feb. 21. 

“Looking forward, we have Mora,” said Allen. “We earned a home playoff game, so the QRF has us as the three seed. It’s a rematch of last year’s playoff game; we had a real gritty game there. We know it’s going to be a battle. Cal Wright (of Mora) is a heck of a player; he will be the best basketball player on the floor for either team. Hopefully we can execute at a high level. It’s become a rivalry game. Us and Mora throughout all of our athletics have a rivalry here, so we’re excited to host them on Thursday.”

The Dragons know they can’t come in overconfident just because they beat the Mustangs a few weeks back. Postseason games always bring added intensity, and Pine City will certainly get Mora’s best on Thursday night, March 9. 

“We have to go out there and focus,” said Allen. “They’re talented, they play aggressive and gritty, and we have to match that and exceed them in that game. We’re going to do everything we can to be focused so we can get the win.”

Should the Dragons earn a victory, a second round rematch with Milaca would appear likely. The Wolves beat the Dragons 83-61 in January. Pine City plays in a loaded Section 6AA. Not only is defending State Champion Braham in the top half of the bracket, but two of the top four teams in the state also play in this section between #2 Melrose (26-0) and #4 St. Cloud Cathedral (22-4). The Dragons would need a run of unprecedented proportions to make State this season. Nevertheless, they’re doing great things and appear to be playing their best basketball at the right time. 

3 on 3 League in Cambridge, MN

2/25/17: @Two Harbors

Varsity: W (76-34)

JV: W (53-38)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

Meeting some unique challenges this past week, the Pine City boys basketball team earned three more wins to move their overall record to 19-6 with one game remaining. The Dragons won two games without head coach Kyle Allen (family reasons), earning impressive road wins on back-to-back days despite playing twice in a 20-hour period. Pine City began the week with an important Section 7AA win over rival Mora. 

Pine City 76, Two Harbors 34

Playing again the following day at 3:30 p.m., some around the team worried that this contest would be sloppy. The opposite was true as the Dragons came out with great intensity and focus and played some of their best basketball of the last month, building a 49-19 lead at the half and winning easily. Everything was dropping for Lunceford early with all 12 of his points coming in the first half. Clay Logan finished with 18, and Rademacher with 14 to go along with a team-high five boards.  

“The big question was what kind of energy would we have,” said coach Rademacher, “but the boys came out on fire. The defense set the tone and that led to lots of transition baskets. I was proud of the boys’ efforts and the energy it took to get it done in that game.”

Pine City has one game remaining on its schedule, at Ogilvie on Friday, March 3. The team is hoping they will have their regular coach back for the finale. 

“Everyone really missed coach Kyle Allen,” coach Rademacher added. “It just wasn’t the same up there without him and we’re all hoping he gets back soon. We were glad we could get a couple more wins.”

2/24/17: @Duluth Marshall

Varsity: W (78-65)

JV: W (69-29)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

Meeting some unique challenges this past week, the Pine City boys basketball team earned three more wins to move their overall record to 19-6 with one game remaining. The Dragons won two games without head coach Kyle Allen (family reasons), earning impressive road wins on back-to-back days despite playing twice in a 20-hour period. Pine City began the week with an important Section 7AA win over rival Mora.

Pine City 78, Duluth Marshall 65

This game started with the Dragons struggling on the offensive end, missing repeated shots and looking out of sync. As the game progressed, shots started falling and Pine City was able to pull away. Clay Logan was back in the starting lineup, and was more aggressive offensively as he finished with a team-high 19 points. Hansmann had 16, Rademacher 12 points and seven rebounds, and senior Adam Seals provided a spark with 10 points to go along with some other big defensive plays and key rebounds.

“We came out a little over aggressive and got ourselves in foul trouble,” said coach Rademacher. “At halftime we made some adjustments in defensive strategy, and I think the boys responded really well to that. Marshall was tough and played well. Down the stretch I thought we just out-efforted them and were able to get it done.”