12/28/22: @Cloquet

V: W (59-50)

Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/2/421951/63adcfd47bd32503583fd25c

Dragon boys basketball fare well in Cloquet

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

The Dragon boys basketball team headed up to Cloquet to play against Mesabi East on December 27. The Dragons started out strong, with senior Luke Wilson getting possession of the ball right away and taking it to the hoop for an easy lay-up. The Dragons got the next basket too with the basket made by Senior Lamont Sydney and an assist from Wilson. It was a smooth game from there on out – and the Dragons finished with a strong win 80-30.

They then played the Cloquet Lumberjacks the following day. This game was much closer score-wise, but the Dragons were still able to get the win 59-50.

Coach Kyle Allen gave some feedback and commented on the games and how the team is doing so far this season saying, “I thought we came out a little flat against Mesabi East. We went with a bigger rotation - eleven guys. We’re trying to get more guys experience and a chance on the floor. The more guys understand how they fit with each other and how they fit into our system, the better they can play in their role, thus the better we will be as a team.”

Riley Cummings  continues to excel rebounding the basketball. “He has been as dominant as I have ever had a player in terms of rebounding the basketball. Our defense, our pressure, was really good in the first half. This tournament gives us a chance to re-center ourselves, focus on only basketball. We had team meetings in the morning and there were a lot of positive things that came out of that. I thought our guys came out with great energy for the Cloquet game, but also sustained that energy,” said Allen. 

Not only was it a great experience, he added, but it was also a great win. Allen said that it was the first time we have won that tournament in the history of us going to it. “Hopefully these games will start leading us in the right direction of where we want to go and what we do with the program,” he added.

The Dragons will host Rush City on Thursday, January 5 and then will head down to Chisago Lakes on Saturday, January 7.

12/27/22: Mesabi East (@Cloquet)

Varsity: W (80-30)

Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/2/421951/63ac9c824dec8a0f7c3f9d2f

Dragon boys basketball fare well in Cloquet

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

The Dragon boys basketball team headed up to Cloquet to play against Mesabi East on December 27. The Dragons started out strong, with senior Luke Wilson getting possession of the ball right away and taking it to the hoop for an easy lay-up. The Dragons got the next basket too with the basket made by Senior Lamont Sydney and an assist from Wilson. It was a smooth game from there on out – and the Dragons finished with a strong win 80-30.

They then played the Cloquet Lumberjacks the following day. This game was much closer score-wise, but the Dragons were still able to get the win 59-50.

Coach Kyle Allen gave some feedback and commented on the games and how the team is doing so far this season saying, “I thought we came out a little flat against Mesabi East. We went with a bigger rotation - eleven guys. We’re trying to get more guys experience and a chance on the floor. The more guys understand how they fit with each other and how they fit into our system, the better they can play in their role, thus the better we will be as a team.”

Riley Cummings  continues to excel rebounding the basketball. “He has been as dominant as I have ever had a player in terms of rebounding the basketball. Our defense, our pressure, was really good in the first half. This tournament gives us a chance to re-center ourselves, focus on only basketball. We had team meetings in the morning and there were a lot of positive things that came out of that. I thought our guys came out with great energy for the Cloquet game, but also sustained that energy,” said Allen. 

Not only was it a great experience, he added, but it was also a great win. Allen said that it was the first time we have won that tournament in the history of us going to it. “Hopefully these games will start leading us in the right direction of where we want to go and what we do with the program,” he added.

The Dragons will host Rush City on Thursday, January 5 and then will head down to Chisago Lakes on Saturday, January 7.

Pine City Youth HOOPS Program

 Pine City Youth HOOPS Program

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

Pine City Youth Hoops is off to a great start this season. This program is a chance for youth in grades 3-6 to learn about basketball and develop their fundamental skills. 

Coach Kyle Allen has been with the program for awhile and said, “Youth HOOPS is where we start our ‘traveling’ basketball. All four teams have been participating in practices, scrimmages, a developmental league, and tournaments so far. It is a great way to learn about basketball, become a better athlete and team player, and have a lot of fun in the process! The JV and Varsity players are also volunteering their time to work with these athletes at their practices.”  

The boys have had a tournament in Chisago Lakes and have participated in the Mora developmental league so far this year. They will continue playing through February.

The fourth grade girls coach, Padrick Judd, reported, “The HOOPS program has been off to a very successful start to the season. We have a third grade, fourth grade, and a combined fifth/sixth grade team for this season. All three teams have just completed participating in development league games which have given them opportunities to work on their basketball skills and knowledge/rules of the game. We have also had a couple tournaments at these levels and we are looking forward to more tournaments after the holiday break.” 

Parents and coaches alike appreciate seeing their young athletes having fun, knowledgeable coaches teaching skills to their players, and positive attitudes across the board from players, coaches, and parents. “It is a highlight of my day to not only coach these girls, but also as a proud parent get to see these girls improve each day. It is a lot of fun!” added Judd.  

The girls youth HOOPS have also participated in and will continue to participate in tournaments and the Mora developmental league.

Junior Matthew Blake, who has participated in the league since third grade, noted, ”I had Mr. Wicktor as a coach; we didn’t win much, but we had so much fun!”

Senior Luke Wilson, who also participated from an early age, said, “My experiences when I was in HOOPS was interesting … we were good. We won a lot of tournaments but also got yelled at a lot by Jeff Wilson. He kept us in line and in check, making us a very good young team.”

Senior Riley Cummings said, “We were a great hoops team, and I remember winning many games.”

Senior Isaiah Hasz added of the HOOPS league, “By far the most fun I’ve had in basketball.”

The boys youth teams this season are led by Kyle Allen, Heidi Burger and Dan Swanson. The girls youth coaches are Alysha Karon, Padrick Judd, Kristin Unverzagt, and Ross Haverhals.

Some of the boys on the Pine City Youth Hoops team at an away game.

 

Photo by Amber Newman

12/20/22: @North Branch

Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/2/421951/63a30ca5da5b3e0db84f4139

V: L (35-77)

JV: L

C-Squad: L

Cloquet Tournament Times

All games played at Cloquet Middle School- 2001 Washington Avenue

The home team will wear dark uniforms

Tuesday December 27th

1:00 Mesabi East Boys (Away) vs Pine City Boys (Home Team)

2:45 Cromwell Girls (Away) vs Rock Ridge Girls (Home Team)

4:30 Cloquet Boys (Away)  vs Cromwell Boys (Home Team)

6:15 Cloquet Girls (Away) vs Mesabi East Girls (Home Team)

Wednesday December 28th

1:00 Mesabi East Girls(Away)  vs Cromwell Girls (Home Team)

2:45 Cromwell Boys (Away) vs Mesabi East Boys (Home Team)

4:30 Rock Ridge Girls (Away) vs Cloquet Girls (Home Team)

6:15 Pine City Boys (Away) vs Cloquet Boys (Home Team)

2022-2023 Alumni Game

 

12/9/22: East Central

Varsity: L (46-49)

JV: W

C-Squad: W

Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/2/421951/6394760ba676e807ec7e804a

Dragon boys basketball sees tough Loss to EC

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

The fans were at the game and ready to cheer on the Dragon boys basketball team at their first home game this season. The game started with senior Lamont Sydney stealing the ball and making a lay-up. The Dragons kept the lead at 7-2 just seven minutes into the game. They would keep the lead until just before half-time. 

The East Central Eagles were able to put in a few buckets, and at halftime, the score was tied 24-24. The second half was a bit of a struggle, as the Dragons would either be ahead by one or two points, or behind. Their rebounding was on point, but the finish with points fell short. 

Coach Kyle Allen commented, “We executed parts of our system really well. I thought we rebounded the ball to a high degree. We had 24 offensive rebounds and 23 defensive rebounds. Those are really good numbers. The problem is, we only turned those 24 offensive rebounds into 9 second chance points.”

Coach Allen also had some highlights of players who he thought did well. “Riley Cummings again continues to show up and be a star in his role. He is rebounding like a madman and willing to do all the little things to help his team win. Mason Charles was joined by Nick Plasek and Ashton Seals in our tandem role. This is a new role for Nick and Ashton and they are getting the first shot at being the complimentary piece to Mason with this. They drew a tough matchup guarding Nathan Zielinski who is a very good player and leader in his own right for the Eagles. AJ Ostenson saw his first varsity minutes on Friday and rose to the challenge. We expect him to continue to grow into a basketball player both on the court and in our system.”

The Dragon boys will host St. Francis this Tuesday, December 13 at 7:15 p.m.

12/2/22: @Paynesville

Dragon Boys Basketball season begins with a loss

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

The Dragon boys basketball team, coached by Kyle Allen, went to Paynesville for their first game of the season on Friday, December 2. 

The Dragons got the first basket of the game by senior Mason Charles with a put-back under the hoop. Paynesville answered back with a basket of their own. The Dragons would be behind most of the first half, always coming within 5 to 2 points. At the end of the first half, they would take the lead. The second half started with a score of 28-17, Dragons up by one point. The Dragons would maintain their lead for the first part of the second half. However, Paynesville was able to get a run and pull ahead for the remainder of the game. The game ended with a score of 49-60, a loss for the Dragons.

Coach Allen commented on the game, “We had some first game jitters. It is tough to go on the road on game one, especially traveling 2 plus hours and playing a very good 2AA team. We definitely showed some of our inexperience but gave a lot to work with and showed us a good roadmap on what to work on.” He also commented on Cummings’ and Plasek’s game play that they were “stars in their role and worked their tails off.”

Moving forward and looking into the season, Allen noted, “We have to get back to doing the little things well, program wide. We have had a lot of success over the last several years. That success did not just happen. The players that came before these groups were bought in and took pride in outworking teams day in and day out. They took pride in doing all of the little things correct and not cutting corners. We need to reinstall some of those principles at the sub-varsity level to ensure future program success.”

Stats

Senior Luke Wilson had 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 charge, and 26 points. Senior Mason Charles had 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 charges, and 11 points. Ashton Seals had 1 steal. Isaiah Hasz had 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 5 points. Lamont Sydney had 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 5 points. Riley Cummings had 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 point. Nick Plasek had 1 rebound. 

The Dragons will host the East Central Eagles this Friday, December 9 at 7 p.m.

V: L (48-60)

JV: L

C-Squad: L

Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/video/2/421951/638e2516664b8800ecb9647f

Pine City Boys Basketball looks to strong senior leadership

 Pine City Boys Basketball looks to strong senior leadership

By Heidi Burger Pine City Pioneer

The basketball season for the boys at Pine City high school began with two-a-day practices.   Coach Kyle Allen is in his 12th year of coaching varsity at PCHS. He is assisted by Dylan Kringstad (JV), Wayne Hansmann (C-Squad), Brittany Lakeberg (8t grade), Ben Bloomquist (7th grade), Jason Rademacher (Varsity Assistant), and Jason Wiener (Volunteer Assistant).

The athletes came ready to work hard and improve their game. Coach Allen commented on practices so far, “We spent the first few practices doing our ‘tryouts.’ Everyone makes a team, but we utilize many drills to rank our players. This allows us to put players on a team that will allow them to grow into our system and program. We really start the year off slow and work on our basic and fundamental drills and skills. These are the same drills we are running with our elementary and junior high programs. We believe in going slow to go fast; we need to create a foundation that we can build off of as the season progresses. We want to play our best basketball at the end of the season and we feel this gives us that chance to grow into that.”

Allen continues to have the same goals for this season as before – 20 plus wins, conference champions, earn a home playoff game, and get a chance to make a run in sections. Last season, their record was 18-9, and the coaches and team are looking for a new start this season. 

The senior boys this season are looking strong, all seven of them. Allen is looking forward to the skills and talents each of these seniors will provide. He said this about each of them. 

“Luke Wilson will be the leader of this team and the program this year. He has been trained for this. I expect him to be one of the best players on the floor in every game we play this season,” noted Allen. “Lamont Sydney may very well be the most athletic player I have had in my tenure.  He will have the opportunity to really grow his game this year and become a great player for us. Mason Charles will come into his senior year with a good amount of experience over the last few seasons. He will be elite on the defensive end, and I expect him to take some major strides on the offensive end. Riley Cummings athleticism and size are amazing. He is going to dominate on the boards and on defense and take a huge step on the offensive end. Isaiah Hasz is a great athlete who can do a lot of good things on the court on both ends. We expect him to help us spread the floor as a shooter and guard across the board on the other end. Nick Plasek is a great energizer and athlete. We are expecting him to expand his role and utilize his strength and athleticism on the defensive end and on the boards. And Ashton Seals is another good athlete for us. Ashton will be asked to fill in several roles from a ball handler, to tandem, to shooter.”  

The boys will host their first home game on December 9 against the East Central Eagles at 7 p.m. It looks to be a good season.

MN Basketball News: Top 50

 Congrats to senior Luke Wilson for being named to the MN Basketball News Top 50 player in Class 2A!