Holyoke hangs on for 43-38 first-round win over Fowler

    It was a nerve-wracking start to the big state tournament at Loveland’s Budweiser Events Center Thursday, March 9, as Holyoke’s sometimes-shaky first-round game against the Fowler Grizzlies came out a 43-38 victory.
    “We came out really shooting the ball well, which was a bit of a two-edge sword,” said coach Scott Dille. While the Dragons jumped out to an early lead, Dille said the team settled for a lot of jump shots through the entire game instead of working for a more balanced offense.
    “Twenty-two of our 31 attempted shots were 3-pointers, which is way too high of a percentage,” said Dille.
    Defensively, Holyoke struggled to manage Alexander Proctor, a key player on Fowler’s offense, who wound up scoring 17 points in the game and creating easy shots for his teammates as well.
    Still, while Holyoke’s 17-9 first-quarter lead was the widest score gap of the game, the Dragons never did fall behind, holding on for a 43-38 win to advance to the Final Four.
    “It wasn’t the sharpest game for us, but in tournament play, there is a saying that goes ‘survive and advance,’ which is what we did,” said Dille. “Any time you can win a game at the state tournament, it is a pretty good thing, but we knew we would have to play better down the road.”
    Fowler put the first points on the board early in the game. However, those first two points were the only lead the Grizzlies would have through the entire game — although it sure came close a few times.
  

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