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.