3/8/18: Holdingford (Playoffs-Round 1)

Pine City Pioneer, Jesse Logan

The Pine City Dragons boys basketball team is at it again. The squad is making a nice run in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and is turning heads state-wide in the process. The Dragons opened their postseason with a solid home win, but in the second round they knocked off the #1 seed in Section 6AA and logged one of the biggest upset wins in school history; the Dragons beat powerhouse Annandale.

Pine City 56, Holdingford 40

This game was the #8 versus #9 matchup in a loaded Section 6AA bracket. The Dragons section is so stacked that they had to wait until very late in the season to even secure a home playoff game despite a 20-win season. That home-court advantage would be helpful on Thursday, March 8 as the Dragons  would grind out a win against a scrappy Huskers team that seemed to pride itself on defense.

“Holdingford was very athletic and long, very stingy on the defensive end,” said Dragons Head Coach Kyle Allen. “We tried to stick to our game plan throughout the night, I thought the boys did a nice job of not fighting it. They stuck to it and allowed it to work as the game wore on.”

Pine City had its struggles on the offensive end as Holdlingford stayed at home on shooters and closely guarded the Dragons on the perimeter. Senior Jake Rademacher did a nice job of getting to the rim to break the defense down and had a nice game. Pine City had to dig in on the defensive end to pull out the victory.   

“We really allowed our defense to take over for long stretches,” said Allen. “Our defense led to good runs on the offensive end, allowing us to get good looks. I thought we could have improved our rebounding to start the game, but we were able to adjust and do better as the game went on.”

Seth Logan continues to prove himself since being inserted into the starting lineup midway through the season. He led the team with 16 points on 3-4 shooting from downtown, while also pulling down five rebounds. Nick Hansmann had 10 points and six boards.

The Dragons win had them advancing to play at St. John’s in Collegeville for the second year in a row. Pine City had the dubious task of taking on the #6 ranked team in the state, the Annandale Cardinals, a team that had made State five years in a row. Pine City would come up big when it mattered most.

Varsity: W (56-40)