by Tad Heitkamp, coach
On February 15th, 2022, the Blue Dragons played host to the Parker Pheasants in another Big East Conference tilt. On this night, prior to tip-off, we honored the Parents and Seniors who have guided us the entire season…thanks to everyone for the support!
The two teams battled back and forth for the first three quarters before the Blue Dragons took control in the final stanza defeating Parker 60-43.
“We came out a little sluggish the first 8 minutes, but got things rolling in the right direction the 2nd quarter,” stated Heitkamp. “I’m not sure what finally clicked, but all of a sudden we started playing together on both ends of the court and when that happens, we are a pretty dang good basketball team.”
The two teams played to a virtual tie going into the 4th quarter, but the home team exploded for 21 points while holding the Pheasants to 5 points.
“We made an adjustment in the 4th quarter defensively as we went man-to-man, which led to a lot of easy transition points and shut down their number one scoring threat,” explained Heitkamp. “The guys wanted to go man, so that is what we did…and the guys took it from there.”
Cooper Long had a huge night offensively as he led all scorers with 27 points, but what shouldn’t go unnoticed is that he shut down Parker’s go to guy as he didn’t score in the 4th quarter.
Dylan Kindt (8 rebounds and 5 assists) and Rhett Kloth (11 rebounds and 3 blocks) had another solid night netting 11 and 8 points, while Cadyn Ockenga (5 rebounds) and Sam Schleuter (4 rebounds) added 4 points each. Isaiah Gnadt (3 rebounds) and Clay Lardy (4 rebounds) rounded out the scoring with 3 apiece.
The Blue Dragons finished out their season by playing against Sioux Valley Cossacks last Thursday and Dell Rapids Quarriers Monday evening. Both games found the opposing team with the upper hand as the Blue Dragons lost 36-67 and 55-65.
Region play will begin on March 1. The Blue Dragons are currently 4th seed, which will leave Garretson as the host school against the 5th seed.
