The Pine City boys basketball team hosted Zimmerman on Friday night.
The Dragons were looking to end the week on a high note, as they welcomed the Thunder. But it was evident early on that Zimmerman and their defense would be relentless. The Dragons gave a valiant effort in trying to keep up with size and speed their opposition had. Zimmerman pulled ahead early and maintained that lead throughout the 1st half. One of the bright spots of the 1st half was Charlie Ausmus, who nailed three shots from the perimeter to give the Dragons offense some momentum. But the Thunder would not be bothered by this and continued to add on to their lead, and would go into halftime leading 46-23.
Zimmerman began the 2nd half on a 10-0 scoring run, but Pine City quickly ended it and made some nice shots of their own. AJ Ostensen had a big hand in the offense scoring 13 points in the 2nd half alone. Although the Dragons never got close enough to threaten the Thunder lead, it was their resiliency that stood out. Their willingness to battle until the final buzzer. They were also able to improve from the free throw line, going 13-19 in the 2nd half while alone shooting 2-9 in the 1st. Their defense also improved in the foul department, they had in the 1st half and 3 in the 2nd. Pine City would fall to Zimmerman 81-51 but the way the team has and continues to grow is a sign of things headed in the right direction.
With the loss the Dragons fall to 2-14 on the season. They'll battle the Dragons of Lakes International Language Academy Monday(Jan. 29th).
Scoring:
Pine City
AJ Ostensen 19
Charlie Ausmus 11
Sawyer McDaniel 10
Jace Peterson 4
Bryer Willert 3
Grant Larson 1
