3/10/18: Annandale @St. John's (Playoffs-Round 2)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

Pine City 56, Annandale 52

The Dragons played very well against top competition in the section tournament last season, narrowly losing to then #4 ranked St. Cloud Cathedral. While most outside of Pine County gave the Dragons little chance in this matchup, the players and coaches came in believing they could win. When the Dragons jumped out to an early lead, fueled again by excellent shooting, it was clear that Pine City had come to play.

“We felt like we were the best #8 seed in the state,” said Coach Allen.” Our section is so stacked that anyone can win on any given night. There are not a lot of #8 seeds that have a 20-win regular season and bring home a conference title. The moment was not too big for our boys, they were focused and prepared. They did not let anything shake them throughout the day.”

The Dragons game was delayed 15 minutes as the bus got stuck behind a horrific accident between Mora and Henriette. Despite arriving to the arena late, Pine City looked ready once the ball was tipped. They held a nine point lead, 33-24 at the break.

The second half would be tense and exciting. The Dragons led until around 1:35 remaining when a Cardinals three would put Annandale up by one. With ice in his veins, Hansmann calmly hit a deep three from the top of the key to put Pine City back on top by one. Hansmann and Rademacher would hit free throws in the final minute and the Dragons defense would hold the Cardinals at bay. Annandale is the highest ranked team Coach Allen's Dragons have ever beaten, and the win was one of the biggest in school history.

“We are playing some of our best basketball right now,” said Allen. “We try really hard to peak at the right time, toward the end of the season. We put in some new wrinkles over the last few weeks and the boys have responded well. They are fresh, excited, and motivated.”

It was a total team victory as even scoring and big plays came from up and down the roster. Clay Logan, Seth Logan, and Hansmann each had 14 points. Jake Adams was solid again providing a spark off of the bench with a big three and a pair of important free throws. Jake Lunceford finished with six points but also played great in other facets. Damien Schwab had what was quite possibly the best game of his high school career as he battled inside and affected the game on both ends.

“Seth, Nick, and Clay all did a nice job of allowing things to come their way,” Allen added. “We have a lot of scoring options, something that our team is really proud of, and we do a nice job of getting the ball to the hot hand. Seemed like everyone was willing to shoot and make a big shot when we needed it. Lunceford had a great game as well, really played to his role and did a lot of little things to help our team. Damien Schwab might be the game MVP. I don't think we win that game if he does not come in and give us the big minutes that he did.”

With a program-defining win already in the books, Pine City is now playing with house money in the postseason. Up next is another top-20 team in Eden Valley-Watkins, who will enter with an eye-popping 25-2 record. Should the Dragons beat the Eagles on Wednesday, March 14, they would play at St. Cloud State on Friday, March 16 in the Section 6AA Section Championship game.

Varsity: W (56-52)