Milaca hosted Pine City on Monday night.
The Wolves and Dragons played in a late season section matchup. Both teams were coming into this game off a loss and were hungry for a win.
Both teams started the game on a good note, and both were trying to push the pace. The Dragons were able to take an early lead and built it up to 4. But that didn't last long as the Wolves turned things around and took over the lead and now lead by 4 themselves. As the half wore along, the Dragons pace seemed to fatigue the Wolves. Turnovers and some rushed possessions from the Wolves lead to Pine City being able to finish the 1st half on a 14-3 run taking a 33-21 lead at halftime.
Early on in the 2nd half, the defenses were making life hard for anyone trying to score. But it was Pine City who got the scoring started and eventually built their lead to 16. Milaca used a couple timeouts to try and change some things on the fly and maybe catch the Dragons off guard. The Wolves started to inch closer to tying the game, but a big reason why was their defense. In the last 13 minutes of the 2nd half, the Wolves held Pine City to 6 points. Those 6 points for the Dragons were enough to keep their lead till late in the game. The Wolves momentum was too much and with under 2 minutes to go they tied the game at 45. Their defense suffocated Pine City and let them with no chance to get close for a shot at the basket. As the game ticked to under a minute to go the Dragons fouls piled up and sent the Wolves to the free throw line. Milaca converted both free throws and now lead by 2. They would get back to the charity strip twice more and make 2-4 but now lead by 4 with under 10 seconds to go. The Dragons were able to give themselves a late opportunity but came up short, and the Wolves would come out on top 49-45.
The Wolves win their 6th game of the season, and will now finish up the regular season on the road. They'll play in Pierz on Tuesday night and Albany on Friday.
Pine City will finish up the regular season at home. They'll host Barnum on Tuesday and Foley on Thursday as they look to end the regular season on a high note.
Scoring
Milaca:
Colim Marudas 16
Sam Haedt 10
Ben Berg 6
Jack Patnode 5
Anthony Stoothoff 4
Lincoln Burroughs and George Roehl 3
Adam Droogsma 2
Pine City:
AJ Ostenson 13
Charlie Ausmus 12
Austin Wiener 8
Bryer Willert 6
Daniel Milliman, Grant Larson and Eli Fromm 2
