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By Steve Morris
 Rush
City’s offense went cold in the final six minutes of play against the
Pine City Dragons; so much so the Tigers lost the game 65-41.
In a classic and intense Great River Conference contest, the two teams battled it out in front of a full crowd.
Right: Rush City’s Isaac Roll draws a double team from Pine City last week. Roll finished the game with 10 points.
At halftime, Rush City was ahead 45-30. They quickly extended their
lead by 15 points to take a commanding lead against the Dragons on
their home court.
Soon, something switched in the Dragons as they kicked in their
integral basketball gears and captured the momentum in the final six
minutes of play, feeding off the energy from their fans.
The Tigers led for the most of the game, until with six minutes left,
Pine City senior guard Andrew Lutz hit a free throw to put the Dragons
up by one 52-51, where they didn’t relinquish the lead for the
remainder of the game.
Head coach Jeremy Albright noted his team struggled to get their offense going in the second half.
“We didn’t have some shots drop in the second half that dropped for us in the first half,” head coach Jeremy Albright said.
Rush City started the game red hot, scoring at will as Dylan Truskolaski, Justin Bosman and Andy Erickson all made buckets.
“We came out pretty hot – unfortunately we couldn’t sustain it for the entire game,” Albright said.
Erickson led the Tigers with 16 points and finished with nine rebounds.
Senior captain Roll ended with 10 points and five defensive rebounds.
Turnovers, which have been a thorn in the side of the Tigers all season, hurt Rush City.
For the game they committed 17 turnovers that Pine City converted into easy baskets.
From the free throw line, the boys shot just 25 percent, making 3 of 12.
“Our kids played with a lot of heart and guts,” Albright said.
Rush City finished the regular season 13-9 overall and 11-5 in the Great River Conference.
Jared Orn 5, Dylan Truskolaski 7, Justin Bosman 10, Isaac Roll 10, Cody Waters 3, Andy Erickson 16
Section playoffs
Rush City earned the No. 5 seed in the section 7AA tournament. They
play No. 4 seed Moose Lake Willow River in East Central on March 13. If
Rush City wins, they play the winner of Braham and Hinckley-Finlayson
in Duluth on March 15.
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