The Pine City boys team welcomed in a top 5 team in the state on Tuesday night. Esko was in town and the Dragons were looking for a win to wrap up the regular season.
The way the game started looked like both teams were headed for over 100 points each. Each side came out firing and neither could miss if they tried. As fun as the pace was it soon fell of as both teams defenses started to make plays. Pine City either held the lead or had it tied till just after the halfway point in the first half. That's when turnovers started to become a problem. Credit is due to Esko for forcing those turnovers. The Eskomos managed to score after almost every turnover, this lead to Pine City losing momentum. Even when the Dragons didn't have a turnover they had a hard time finding anything open, whether outside the perimeter or underneath the basket. Esko pulled ahead and lead 37-25 at half.
The Dragons looked to start the 2nd half with a bang and turn things back in their favor, but momentum still favored Esko. The Eskomos came out and attacked the basket and continued to build on their lead. But the Dragons weren't going away easy. They fought back and kept themselves within a couple of possessions of the Esko lead. The 2nd half saw each side getting their fair share of open shots but there wasn't a lack a defensive efforts. Pine City played with heart and battled to the very end but came up short, falling to Esko 74-54.
The Dragons end the regular season at .500 13-13. They will most likely be on the road for their first round playoff game next week. Stay tuned to WCMP for updates on their playoff seeding.
Scoring
Pine City
Luke Wilson 17
Lamont Sydney 11
Charlie Ausmus 8
Isaiah Hasz 7
Ashton Seals 5
Mason Charles 4
Riley Cummings 2
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Photography