Parent Night 2020-2021

 

@Braham: Attendance

 Please check your email and/or google classroom stream for information regarding attendance @Braham for Tuesday 3/2/21.

2/24/21: H-F

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F73xX

JV: W

V: W (75-72 OT)

Dragons boys basketball beat Jaguars, fall to Tigers

Staff report Mar 2, 2021

The Pine City High School boys basketball squad had another see-saw week, beating Hinckley-Finlayson in an overtime game before losing a tight contest with Rush City.

Pine City 74,  Hinckley-Finlayson 72 (OT) 

Coach Kyle Allen said that Hinckley-Finlayson came to play on Feb. 23, and the team really had to claw back to secure this victory.

“We knew coming in that Hinckley-Finlayson would come out very aggressive and be really trying to rebound the ball well,” Allen said. “We worked hard at the start of the game and found ourselves up 20-12. Hinckley was able to go on a run to end the half, but we found ourselves with a three-point lead at halftime.”

Allen said that the team seemed to be in a fog coming out of halftime. 

“Hinckley took advantage of it,” he said. “They jumped all over us and had a 12 point lead over us halfway through the second half.”

But basketball is a game of runs, and the Dragons came roaring back from the deficit. 

“We were able to really dig in on the defensive end and on the boards, and luckily, it wasn’t too little too late on this night,” Allen said. “We were able to come back and force overtime and Kameron Jusczak and Caleb Fromm were able to knock down their free throws down the stretch.”

Luke Wilson hit a big three at the end of the game and landed a free throw to force the overtime, and the Dragons ended with a two-point victory on the night. 

Jusczak led the Dragons on the boards with 12 followed by Fromm and Dylan Petersen with six. Petersen took two charges while Jusczak took one. Petersen and Luke Wilson led the team in assists with four each. 

Allen lauded his JV players for their game against the Jags, and noted that eighth-grader Charlie Ausmus hit a game winning three to give the squad a win on Tuesday night. 

“When we played H-F earlier in the year, we lost by 15 points,” Allen said. “There are always a lot of factors that go into a basketball game, especially when talking about high school and youth basketball, but I was really proud of how the JV has continued to work this year. They are young and inexperienced, but they are showing good growth.”

JV/V Games: Live-streaming (2/22-2/26)

 02/23 Boys basketball vs Hinckley-Finlayson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvxB3zpGEkU&feature=youtu.be

02/26 Boys basketball at Rush City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agl7s9VRNWA&feature=youtu.be

@Rush City: Attendance

Please check your email and/or google classroom stream for information regarding attendance @Rush City for Friday 2/26/21.

H-F: Attendance

Please check your email and/or google classroom stream for information regarding attendance H-F for Tuesday 2/23/21.

2/18/21: @Cloquet

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F5s9v

C: L

JV: L
V: L (77-68)

Boys basketball celebrates seniors in up-and-down week

Staff report Mar 1, 2021  

The Dragon boys varsity squad continues to play tough basketball against challenging competition, and this past week they walked away with a dominant win and a frustrating loss.

Cloquet 77, Pine City 68

Two nights later, on Feb. 18, the Dragons celebrated their seniors - even as they faced a disappointing loss to Cloquet. 

Allen described their two seniors, Caleb Fromm and Carter Arhart, as exceptional students and stand-up people.

“When I first had Carter in class, I was so impressed with him as a student,” Allen said. “When he agreed to be a manager for us, I knew our program would be much improved. We ask a lot of our managers, and Carter has continued to answer that call.

“Caleb earned the beloved nickname ‘corn’ a few years back for his ever trendy style in clothing,” Allen added. “His ability to step in and lead this group through the turmoil of the last year will go down in the record books. He has set a new standard for what hard work looks like in practice daily and in games for our program. I appreciate his belief in me and our program, his willingness to buy into the craziness and for helping to pass that down to future Dragons.”

Allen said it was a hard fought battle from the tip, and that the aggressiveness and physicality of the game was ever present as both teams fought for the lead in the first half. 

“We want big schools on our schedule and we are grateful that Cloquet was willing to host us for not only the game but also for our senior night,” Allen said. “It is a great test for our program to get to play these bigger schools.”

He said the team had a few bad stretches that extended the lead for Cloquet and it was just a little too much to come back from. 

He said Kameron Juscak continued to fight on the boards and came down with a team high 11 rebounds. Dylan Petersen had quite the game earning 13 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Juszak took two charges while Jason Thiemand and Cole Waxberg each took one.

“We are not far away from where we want to be, but we can’t have those stretches against good teams,” Allen said. “We can’t allow 8-0+ runs. We need to shore up a few things on the defensive end and on the boards. Scoring 68 points in a game should be enough to win”

2/16/21: @Onamia

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F5LaZ

JV: W

V: W (74-38)

Boys basketball celebrates seniors in up-and-down week

Staff report Mar 1, 2021  

The Dragon boys varsity squad continues to play tough basketball against challenging competition, and this past week they walked away with a dominant win and a frustrating loss.

Pine City 74, Onamia 38

Coach Kyle Allen said that it was fun atmosphere in this Feb. 16 road game against a high-energy Onamia team. 

“Onamia is such a hard working and scrappy group,” Allen said. “I love their grit and passion that they play with. They just keep coming and just keep playing. Their ability to create chaos can get you out of your game plan and play out of rhythm quickly if you allow it to happen.

“In the times of low attendance numbers due to COVID, it was fun to have a rambunctious crowd at Onamia,” he added. “Their fans in attendance were doing all they could to make up for the lack of people which makes it a fun environment for everyone.”

Kameron Jusczak led the Dragons on the boards with nine, followed by Dylan Petersen with six. Petersen and Jason Thieman both had three assists while Luke Wilson led the pack in steals with seven. Caleb Fromm took the team’s lone charge of the night.

JV/V Games: Live Streaming (2/15-2/19)

 Tuesday, February 16: Boys basketball at Onamia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEzcWwdh0k0&feature=youtu.be

Thursday, February 18: Boys basketball at Cloquet

https://www.mnsports.tv/cloquet-hs-sports

Updated Attendance Guidelines

We will have new guidance for basketball games

1. General spectators (north side of the gym). Email for girls game will be coming soon

   ** 2 per participant

   ** When cheerleaders are not present I will have another 16 spots available.

       **So for the girls game on Thursday I will have 16 more spots -- email me.

   Parents work it out.  I just will get the information from the form

2.  Student section:  28 students allowed in (first 28 signed up)

3.  Visitor section:  28 fans

WE MUST
Mask up!!

Social Distance

@Cloquet: Attendance

Please check your email and/or google classroom stream for information regarding attendance @Cloquet for Thursday 2/18/21.

2/12/21: Isle

 Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F44xE

JV: W

Varsity: W (80-23)

Dragon boys battle back after Mora loss

Staff Report Sports@pinecountynews.com

Pine City’s varsity basketball squad fell this week to a highly-ranked Mora team, then responded with a dominating win over Isle. 

Pine City 80, Isle 23

Allen said the game against Isle might be one of the most complete games his Dragons have ever played in his tenure at Pine City. 

“I was so proud of our boys and how they really concentrated on the process,” Allen said. “The numbers at the end of the game – the things that we say are the most important – really spoke for themselves. I was so proud of this group for sticking to the game plan and not allowing any outside noises to negatively affect them.”

Allen said the game was close at the beginning, but defense and rebounding soon got the ball rolling. 

“While Isle only committed three fouls in the game and we were only able to shoot one free throw, we continued to try to execute our game plan and concepts,” he said. “I loved how the boys responded and continued to be diligent in our system.”

Allen lauded Luke Wilson for an incredible game which brought him very close to a triple-double –  nine points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists. 

“He also added five steals to go to that stat line with only one turnover,” Allen said. “His showcase of concentrating on what is important to our program shined on Friday night.”

Following Wilson on the boards were Cole Waxberg with seven, and Dylan Petersen, Jason Thieman, and Kameron Jusczak with five each. Charlie Ausmus took the lone charge in the game while Petersen helped Wilson on the offensive end pacing the Dragons with seven assists. Waxberg continued his hot streat from outside, hitting seven more threes on the night.

2/9/21: Mora

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F2uNF

C: L

JV: L

Varsity: L (60-46)

Dragon boys battle back after Mora loss

Staff Report Sports@pinecountynews.com

Pine City’s varsity basketball squad fell this week to a highly-ranked Mora team, then responded with a dominating win over Isle. 

Mora 60, Pine City 46 

Coach Kyle Allen noted that coming into the game, Mora was ranked #3 in state – and deservedly so. 

“They have a great group of seniors to go along with a 6’8” junior,” Allen said. “They play well as a team and really stick to their strengths as both individuals and as a group.”

Allen said the first half showcased what the Dragons can do as a team this year. The team found themselves down by just three points going into the break.

“Our energy was great, our execution was good, and I was excited for the second half of the game,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, our energy at the start of the second half was poor and our execution was even worse.”

Mora went on an 11-0 run to start the second half, and though the Dragons were able to cut it to single digits many times in the second half, that lead proved to be too much to overcome.

Allen said he was very proud of how the boys picked themselves up after that terrible start to the second half and continued to compete from that point on.

“We never gave in and kept fighting,” Allen said. “I am proud to coach any team that refuses to give in.” 

He noted that Kameron Jusczak and Dylan Petersen led the Dragons on the boards with nine apiece. Petersen and Luke Wilson each took a charge in the game.

“We asked Caleb Fromm and Jason Thieman to guard on the perimeter, something we often ask of them,” Allen said. “I thought both were up to the task and both continued to execute and lead on that end of the court. Cole Waxberg got hot from deep in the second half, a nice jump start to what we needed, and our guys did a great job of finding him in those spots.”

JV/V Games: Live Streaming (February 8-12, 2021)

JV: 545PM

V: 715PM

2/9 Boys basketball vs Mora

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87bO_h9n6t4&feature=youtu.be

2/12 Boys Basketball vs Isle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma8vw0qhevM&feature=youtu.be

2/5/21: Paynesville

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2F1txN

Varsity: W (79-76)

JV: L

C-Squad: L

STAFF REPORT SPORTS@PINECITYMN.COM

PINE CITY 73, PAYNESVILLE 70 

Coming into the game, Payesville was ranked #20 in 2A by the QRF according to MN Scores. “We were excited to add such a highly ranked team to our schedule this year,” Allen said. “We have never played Paynesville in my Pine City tenure.” In the first half, the Dragons found themselves in foul trouble. Paynesville went into halftime up by a single point. “We knew coming into the game that Paynesville had a very talented scorer (Corbin Froelich) who was averaging close to 30 points per game,” Allen said. “He was surrounded by a talented group of juniors and seniors who were going to be physical and aggressive. The team turned to reinforcements in eighth grader Charlie Ausmus and junior Micah Overtoom. “Both had just played a full and tough fought JV game, so for them to be able to come in and give us some minutes in the first half was huge,” Allen said. He said the team stuck with the game plan, and found success. “This continued into the second half where we got a great boost from some fresh legs. Caleb Fromm stepped up to the free throw line down the stretch and continued to do what we expect from him; knock down big shots. He went 13/16 on the night. “I was really proud how Caleb Fromm, Luke Wilson, and Colton Blaisdell helped hold the ship in the first half as we were battling some foul trouble,” Allen said. “Cole Waxberg came in and gave us some great energy in the second half after sitting early with foul trouble. In the second half, Mason Charles came off the bench to try his hand at our ‘tandem’ role; it was the first time we have asked him to do this and he was very successful in allowing us to continue our game plan. Allen said the atmosphere at those games was electric “One of those Friday night games that would have had The Den rocking with a full house,” he said. “While we miss our fans, we appreciate our JV and C-Squad players, along with our player’s parents/guardians, coming in and helping to give us the juice we need to compete at a high level with great energy” Dylan Petersen led the Dragons on the boards with eight followed by Kameron Jusczak with seven. They were able to take five charges on the night; Jusczak had two while Petersen, Jason Thieman, and Luke Wilson each had one. Wilson led in assists with six.