After a tough loss against the Colman-Egan Hawks, the Garretson Blue Dragon boys basketball team were looking for a solid win against Flandreau on Tuesday, January 23. Unfortunately, the Flyers had the home court advantage and pressed it, denying the Dragons their justice. However, the week wasn't over for the Dragons yet, and the team found the W on Saturday at the DSU Classic against St. Francis Indian School.
Last Tuesday, Flandreau took the upper hand from the tip, grabbing the first several points early in the first quarter. Their defensive game was tight near the Dragon basket, forcing Garretson to attempt their points via long 3-point shots, which fell short.
Flandreau refused to let go of the lead, heading into the half up by 9. In the third, Garretson started off with a 2-point layup by Ian Buettner, but their offense stalled as they again worked to get to the basket. The Flyers easily broke through the Dragons' defense, and widened the gap to 15 points by the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, Garretson was only able to sink the ball for five more points to the Flyers' 14, to end the game down 25-48.
On Saturday, the Dragons headed to Madison for the DSU Classic, taking on St. Francis Indian School out of Chamberlain. While the two teams were fairly evenly matched, Garretson took home a solid win, 61-43.
In the first quarter, both teams worked hard to find their groove. The Warriors gathered the first five points of the game, but Garretson had fire in their bellies and soon retaliated. While the Dragons were down at the end of the first quarter, the teams stayed close in points, and Garretson tied it up in the second quarter.
Garretson was able to pull ahead, and keep a 2-point lead before pulling ahead another three points. They went into the half 22-17.
In the third quarter, the Dragons held the Warriors down to 2 points while they gathered eight more, bringing the score to 31-19. While St. Francis looked for a moment like they might close the gap, Garretson again took the wind out of their opponents' sails and ended the quarter 41-30.
They kept tacking on the points in the fourth quarter, widening the lead to 19 points. Collin Olson finished off the game by sinking two more free throws on a contact foul, and Tyler Edmundson swatted the ball out of the Warriors' hands, turning possession back over to the Dragons with twenty seconds left on the clock. They took the game 61-43, giving the Dragons their third win of the season.
The team hit the road on Tuesday for a match-up with Baltic (results not available at press time), and the next four games will all be at home. Garretson will be hosting the McCook Central/Montrose Cougars on Friday, February 2 in the Dragon's Lair. The varsity game will begin at 7:15 p.m. Next Tuesday, February 6, Varsity will take on Beresford, also starting at 7:15.
