The Pine City boys hosted North Branch last night.
The Dragons came into the game on a 2 game losing streak but had alot of positives to build off of. The Vikings came in with a strong 4-1 record and sitting on top of their section.
The Dragons couldn't have asked for a better start to the game, as they came out and took an early 5-0 lead. But it didn't take long for the Vikings to turn things around and went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Pine City ended the run with a Cole Waxberg three, and both teams found a groove. North Branch's defense would tighten up and help them grab a 24-14 lead with 5 minutes left in the half. The Dragons didn't let this diminish their hopes, as they quickly came back to score 6 straight and pulled within 4 of the Viking lead. Both teams managed to continue to score and North Branch would head into halftime with a 33-25 lead. In the 2nd half it was all North Branch. After seeing their lead shrink down to 4, the Vikings would put their foot on the gas. As they marched through the half, they built up a 10 point lead which would slowly increase as the game went along. Time was not on the Dragons side and soon the lead became insurmountable. Though they trailed the entire 2nd half the Dragons showed a ton of heart and never gave up.
Pine City fell 51-69 to North Branch.
Pine City falls to 2-3 on the season and will play in Cloquet for a holiday tournament on the 28th.
North Branch improves to 5-1 on the season and will travel up to Hermantown on Thursday.
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Photography
