by Coach Tad Heitkamp
On March 1st, 2022, the Blue Dragons played host to the Madison Bulldogs in Region 3A post-season action.
The Blue Dragons came out and played inspired basketball the opening quarter as they held a 10-8 lead going into the 2nd stanza.
Unfortunately, the home team couldn’t keep that momentum going as Madison outscored the Blue Dragons by 5 points and took a 24-21 lead into the half.
“We did a really nice job the opening 8 minutes executing on both ends to the court," stated Head Coach Tad Heitkamp. "We were communicating on defense, which limited them to second chance scoring opportunities. We also ran through our offensive sets, which led to some easy scoring chances.
"The second quarter we continued to do some nice things offensively, but we got a little lazy on defense. We were not closing out on their shooters and got out-muscled a little down on the blocks.”
The Blue Dragons came out at half on fire dropping down 17 points, while holding the Bulldogs to 7 points.
“The guys had THAT look in their eyes in the locker room, so we just encouraged them to control what they can and not to have any regrets at the end of the game,” said Heitkamp.
The home team kept it going offensively the final 8 minutes by scoring 14 points, but Madison was a little more effective, connecting for 24 points and giving them a 55-52 victory over the Blue Dragons.
“We had 4 or 5 consecutive possessions that we either turned the ball over or took a poor shot in the 4th quarter, which took the wind out of our sails. And when you are playing against a team like Madison that’s not going to be a good outcome,” indicated Heitkamp.
“I was so proud of the guys!" exclaimed Heitkamp. "We asked them to leave it all on the court this evening and that’s exactly what they did! We handled adversity and never gave up…unfortunately we just fell a little short on the scoreboard.”
Cooper Long was again the game’s leading scorer with 16 points. Dylan Kindt (6 rebounds and 5 assists), Cadyn Ockenga, and Clay Lardy all hit for 7 points, while Sam Schleuter (4 rebounds and 2 assists) and Rhett Kloth (7 rebounds and 2 blocks) added 6 points each. Isaiah Gnadt rounded out the scoring with 3 points of his own.
"I want to once again thank the seniors for their leadership and guidance all season long," said Heitkamp. "I also want to thank the parents, family members, and fans for their continued support…without you all none of this is possible!!"
