The Dragons were feeling good about their performance against the Seaholm Maples going into the week, and looked to carry the momentum against Stoney Creek and Troy Athens.
Tuesday night saw the ‘two headed? Dragon reveal itself for the first time all season in a blow out lost at Stoney Creek, 68-49. The Dragons opened up the game flat and the Cougars went on a 9-1 run before the Dragon’s defense finally shut down the Cougars and found themselves only down by four at the end of the first period. The start of the second period the Dragons put the full court press on, forcing the Cougars to commit turnovers that led to some quick Dragon buckets and found the Dragons trailing at the half by two, 22 ? 24. The third period would open up like the start of the game, flat and out of sync.
This period would be the tale of turnovers, too many from the Dragons and when they would force the Cougars to commit turnovers they just couldn’t capitalize and put points on the boards.
The Dragons would be outscored 27 ? 44 in the second half and suffered their worst defeat of the season. Leading scorer’s for the game: Derek Schrauben 10, Rich Eaton, 10, Alex Mayo 9, Jesus Ginez 5 and Connor McCormick 4.
Friday night saw the both heads of the Dragon reveal itself in another fantastic game at home in a dramatic win against Troy Athens 49-48. Once again, the Field house was packed and the student section was in full strength showing support for the team.
There is an old saying in basketball, ‘live by the 3, die by 3.? Troy Athens has a reputation for having one of the best three-point shooting teams in the county and Friday night was no exception. The start of the game saw a very familiar tone, the Dragons out of sync, down and found themselves down 6-11 at the end of the first period. The Dragons opened up the second period more focused and controlled the tempo of the game much better. They would leverage the depth of their bench to keep the Red Hawks off balance for much of the second period. Good ball movement and shot selection helped keep the Dragons in the game as the Red Hawks continued to drain 3 after 3. Athens would close out the first half up 25-24.
Once again, the ugly side of the ‘two headed Dragon? would reveal itself much of the third period as the Red Hawks would dominate both the offensive & defensive boards stretching their lead to 9 as the third period came to the end.
As the fourth period began, the ‘other? Dragon head would appear and the came out determined to win this one. Down by nine at the start of the fourth, the Red Hawks came out firing again and quickly stretched their lead to 14 points. The determined Dragons finally played the way we have seen them play the majority of the season and would not let this one get away.
Going on dramatic 13 ? 7 run, the Dragons were down by two with 8.9 seconds left when Brian Wandschneider would hit a three-point shot to take the lead by one. With just under eight seconds to play, the Red Hawks moved the ball down the court to take a last second shot from beyond the ark only to be reject by Alex Mayo.
Dragons won 49 ? 48.
‘Live by the 3, die by the 3.?
Leading scorer’s for the game: Derek Schrauben 14, Alex Mayo 10, Ian Monk & John Williamson 6, Todd Wolverton & Brian Wandschneider 5.
It was the second time this season fans were treated to a dramatic finish and the student section showed their appreciation by rushing the floor to help the team celebrate the win.
The Dragons play one game this week hosting Rochester Adams on Thursday night. The Dragons are currently ranked #11 in the OAA Power Rankings.
~ Story submitted