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By Steve Morris
 The
Pine City Dragons shot the lights out of the Rush City gymnasium Feb. 5
as they handed the Tigers a whopping 29-point loss on their home court.
It was Rush City’s biggest loss of the season.
With both sides of the bleachers filled, the Tigers bowed to the top-ranked Great River Conference team, 80-51.
From three point land, it seemed a cover was placed over Rush City’s
rim. The boys made just four of 23 from behind the arc, or 17 percent.
The Dragons had the opposite problem as they shot 17 for 22, or 55
percent.
Right: Rush City guard Derek Gorman,
right, looks to enter the ball in the half court set during their game
against Pine City Feb. 5 in Rush City. It was the Tigers first home
game since Jan. 21.
“We ran into a hot shooting team,” head coach Jeremy Albright said.
“Their three senior guards are blessed with quickness; but you can tell
they have spent a lot of time working on their game.”
At the halfway mark, the boys were behind 43-26.
On the defensive end for Rush City, the Dragons quickness proved
lethal, as they were able to attack the basket and get to the free
throw line. From the charity strip, the Dragons were 18 for 25. The
Tigers were 9 for 12.
During halftime, Albright told the boys to keep the pressure on their outside shooters and to continue to play solid defense.
“You can do X’s and O’s all you want, but there isn’t much you can do
with a team who shoots the ball better than you,” Albright said.
On offense, senior slasher Andy Erickson led the Tigers with 18 points.
Rush City’s offense was unable to find a rhythm, in part because Pine City controlled the tempo.
“When we played the tempo we wanted, we were able to stay with them,” Albright said.
Senior center and captain Isaac Roll scored nine points while Justin Bosman had seven points and eight rebounds.
Albright said the Dragons did a good job taking Roll out of the game, which caused some frustration.
Albright is taking the game in stride and is going to use it to do some personal inventory.
“We’re going to regroup and get ready for our next game,” he said.
With the loss, Rush City fell to 7-3 in the conference.
Jared Orn 6, Luke Moulton 2, Dylan Truskolaski 2, Justin Bosman 7, Isaac Roll 9, Cody Waters 2, Andy Erickson 18, Tom Waters 3.
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