by Coach Tad Heitkamp
The Garretson Boys Basketball team has four games under its belt, two of which were wins. They started off the season against the Chester Flyers, and a few days later, took on the Canton C-Hawks in the Dragon's Lair. They had to wait until Saturday to take down the Tri-Valley Mustangs, but the home court again proved to be a disadvantage when they faced off with West Central on Monday.
Blue Dragons Take Down Flyers 50-48
On December 11th, 2021, the Blue Dragons opened their 2021-2022 season on the road battling the Chester Flyers. In the opening half the Blue Dragons were doing a very nice job on the defensive side of the ball, which led to some easy transition buckets.
“The coaching staff preached all week that if we work hard on defensive good things will happen offensively,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “We were flying around the opening 16 minutes. Chester didn’t get many second chance scoring opportunities as Rhett (Kloth) redirected a number of shots and we rebounded very well as a team.”
The Blue Dragons went into the locker room with a 24-17 lead.
“We came out the second half a little lack luster to say the least... especially on the defensive side of the ball as we gave up 18 points in the 3rdquarter alone,” explained Heitkamp. “We were not hustling back on defense and gave them too many second chance looks. We knew they were going to make a run as all good teams do...we just needed to keep our composure and keep battling.”
The final 8 minutes were very exciting as each team hit some big shots, but it was Sam Schleuter’s steal and pass to Cooper Long for an easy lay-up in the final seconds that gave the Blue Dragons a great win on the road.
Cooper Long (7 rebounds and 4 steals) and Sam Schleuter (4 steals and 3 assists) were the team’s leading scorers with 15 and 11 points. Dylan Kindt (6 assists and 6 rebounds) and Rhett Kloth (8 blocks and 5 rebounds) added 10 and 8 points each. Isaiah Gnadt, Cadyn Ockenga, and Clay Lardy rounded out the scoring with 3, 2, and 1 point each.
The Player of the Game against Chester was Sam Schleuter with 11 points, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds. “Sam is the man who gets us going on the defensive side of
the ball...as he creates so much havoc for opposing teams. This young man also hit 2 3’s in the 4thquarter keeping us in the game,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “His steal and assist to secure the victory capped of a fantastic game...great job Sam!!”
The Blue Dragons Let One Slip Away
The Blue Dragons played host to the Canton C-Hawks on December 14th, 2021. The Blue Dragons came out hot as they dented the nets for 14 points in the opening stanza, while holding Canton to just 8 points.
The offensive pressure didn’t slow down the second quarter as the Blue Dragons collected another 15 points, but the visiting team from Canton caught fire, hitting for 19 points and making the halftime score 29-27 in favor of the Blue Dragons.
“We came out strong the opening quarter on both ends of the court. We were attacking the rim, shooting the ball with confidence, and playing hardnose defense,” stated Coach Heitkamp. "Unfortunately, we got a little lazy on the defensive end the 2nd quarter, which led to some easy and uncontested points. We also committed 10 fouls the opening half, which has a tendency to signify slow moving feet and reaching on the defensive end.”
The 3rd quarter the Blue Dragons and C-Hawks swapped baskets for 8 minutes, but the home team held a 40-39 lead going into the final quarter.
The Blue Dragons were not able to keep the momentum going as they gave up 21 points and only hit for 4 points, giving the C-Hawks a 44-60 victory.
“We lost our composure and didn’t handle the chaos Canton created on the defensive and offensive side of the ball the final quarter. We need to stay mentally strong at all times and if a teammate is struggling, we need to pick each other up, which just didn’t happen tonight. This is an area we will be focusing on moving forward...as we are a much better team than we displayed this evening,” mentioned Heitkamp.
Dylan Kindt and Cooper Long led the way in the scoring column with 14 and 13 points, while Rhett Kloth added 9 points of his own. Sam Schleuter, Cadyn Ockenga, Isaiah Gnadt, and Clay Lardy rounded out the scoring with 2 points apiece.
Dylan Kindt was the Player of the Game as he collected 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. “Dylan
did all he could do this evening trying to will his team to a victory, which shows the great leadership he possesses on a nightly basis. Great Game Dylan!”
The Blue Dragons Take Down the Mustangs 44-36
On Saturday, December 18th, the Blue Dragons jumped on a bus and traveled west to battle the Tri Valley Mustangs.
The Blue Dragons came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders for the first four minutes of the game taking a 11-5 lead, but that didn’t last as the home team battled back, taking a 14-11 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better for the Blue Dragons as the scoreboard read 26-19 in favor of the home team going into halftime.
“We did a nice job the opening minutes of the game putting pressure on Tri Valley with stout defense, which led to some easy transition baskets for us,” indicated Coach Heitkamp. “But for whatever reason we quit hustling and started settling for long range jump shots that were not dropping for us. At the half we challenged the kids to turn this game around, which would set the tone for the rest of the season one way or another.”
The second half Blue Dragons showed Tri Valley who the better team was as they held the Mustangs to 10 second-half points, while scoring 25 points of their own.
“I was very proud of how the kids responded the second half,” stated Heitkamp. “They accepted the challenge and took care of business, which is a sign of a good basketball team.”
Dylan Kindt (10 rebounds and 3 steals), Sam Schleuter (5 rebounds and 3 steals), and Cooper Long (5 rebounds and 3 steals) all collected 12 points each, while Rhett Kloth (5 blocks and 4 rebounds) and Clay Lardy rounded out the scoring with 7 and 1 point respectively.
Dylan Kindt was selected as the player of the game versus the Mustangs. Great Work Dylan!!
The Trojans Take Down the Blue Dragons
The Blue Dragons finished up a very busy week and a half of basketball as they played host to the #4 ranked West Central Trojans on Monday, December 20th.
The Blue Dragons did a nice job competing the opening half as the home team went into the locker room down 22-26.
“We did a great job defensively the opening quarter holding this high potent offense to only 7 points. The key was they didn’t get many second chance scoring opportunities, but unfortunately we didn’t capitalize on the offensive end,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “The kids did a great job attacking the rim, but nothing was dropping.”
The 3rd quarter, the visiting team showed why they are going to be a tough team in Class A as they dented the nets for 23 points, while
holding the Blue Dragons to just 13 points. In the 4th quarter the Blue Dragons cut the margin to 8 points, but that was all the closer they would get as the Trojans defeated the Blue Dragons 63-46.
“West Central came out and just took it to us in the 3rd quarter,” indicated Heitkamp. “Our kids never gave up, and the effort was there all night long, we just couldn’t match them in the scoring column.”
Cooper Long was the game high scorer with 18 points (7 rebounds and 1 block), while Dylan Kindt (6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 7 assists) and Sam Schleuter (4 steals and 3 rebounds) added 12 and 11 points. Rhett Kloth (9 rebounds and 3 blocks) rounded out the scoring with 5 points of his own.
Cooper Long was selected as the player of the game for the Blue Dragons. Very Nice Game Cooper!!
The team will get a few days off for the holiday, but will again hit the nets when they join the Hoop City Classic at the Pentagon on December 29 and the Entringer Classic in Brookings on December 31.
