Blue Dragon Varsity take down Beresford
by Tad Heitkamp, Coach
On February 9th, 2021, the Blue Dragons traveled south on I-29 to Beresford to battle the Watchdogs. The Blue Dragons used a strong second half to take down Beresford 52-38.
“We came out very timid and almost scared the first 16 minutes of the game,” stated Coach Heitkamp. “We just reminded the kids at half that we need to attack the rim and control what we can control, which is effort!”
Garretson held Beresford the 17 points, while scorching the nets for 36 points in the second half.
“If we can hold teams to 40 points or lower…we are going to come out on top most of the time, which has been evident our last 3 games,” indicated Heitkamp.
Dylan Kindt (3 assists) and Cooper Long had the hot hands for the Blue Dragons as they hit for 18 and 16 points. Josef Zahn (13 rebounds and 3 assists) collected 9 points of his own, while Jake Schroeder chipped in with 4 points. Evan Bly (7 rebounds) and Rhett Kloth (5 rebounds) rounded out the scoring with 3 and 2 points.
The boys play Sioux Valley in a Double Header at home tonight (Thursday) at 7:45 p.m., and will have their final regular game of the season at the Dragon's Lair on Monday, with JV starting at 6:15 p.m. and Varsity playing at 7:30 p.m.
Blue Dragon ballers cage the Watchdogs
by Cory Buchholz, coach
The Blue Dragon “C” team (3-7) traveled to Beresford to take on the Watchdogs on Feb. 9th and avenged a previous loss from earlier in the season to come away with a 41-38 OT victory. “I was really proud of the way we came out ready to play. We missed some easy opportunities early in the game, but really took control in the second quarter. We had gotten a little complacent in the fourth quarter which allowed them to tie it up at the end of the game. In the overtime stanza I was proud of how we kept driving and looked for the open shots. These close games will only help us for the future,” said Coach Buchholz.
Blaine Trower had another great game in the scoring column netting 10 points. Clay Lardy, in only 2 and a half quarters, dropped in 8 points along with multiple big rebounds. Saige Solheim, Dylan Jessen, and Matthew Gilbert each raked in 5 points apiece while Treyton Chester and Junior Olson each had 4 points apiece to round out the scoring.
In the JV contest, it was another great night for the visiting Dragons coming out on top by the score of 40-3. “We came out aggressive in the first quarter but went back into some old habits in the second quarter especially and couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. Our defense really outplayed the Watchdogs as we built a big lead. We pushed tempo, attacked the rim, and did everything right. For some reason, we shied away from that early in the fourth quarter and played not to lose rather than just finishing the game. This game became a lot closer than what it should have been, and, in the end, it was our free throw shooting going 9 for 12 late in the fourth quarter that actually sealed the win for us,” said Coach Buchholz. “As coaches, we preach that free-throws win games; this was the case tonight as we came in clutch down the stretch from the charity stripe,” stated Coach Buchholz.
Leading the solid effort was Rhett Kloth and Clay Lardy each with 13 apiece followed by Isaiah Gnadt with 7. Cadyn Ockenga had a strong game handling point guard duties as he scored 4 points while Matthew Gilbert (2) and Blain Trower (1) each knocked down huge free throws at the end to finally put a leash on the Watchdogs.
The Dragons will have played the Parker Pheasants this past Tuesday Feb. 16th and will return home to face the Sioux Valley Cossacks (Feb. 18th) to finish the season against the Quarriers from Dell Rapids on Monday Feb. 22nd. Come out and support the young Blue Dragons!!
