Dragons finish regular-season basketball

     Two games last week marked the end of the Holyoke High School boys basketball team’s regular season, which led into the district tournament happening this week. A Feb. 12 game in Burlington ended in a 66-50 Dragon loss. Following that, HHS hosted Yuma on Feb. 14, this time facing a 59-36 defeat.
     They were the latest in a season full of good things that often fell just short of a win for the young Holyoke team. Nevertheless, it has also been a season full of growth, as the Dragons have repeatedly stood strong in the face of adversity.
    
Holyoke 50, Burlington 66
     Last week in Burlington, the Cougars quickly showed who had the upper hand in the varsity boys basketball game, which they won 66-50.
     In the first quarter, Holyoke put up a respectable eight points, six of which were scored by Slaten Burris. In that same time, however, Burlington had managed 21, and as was the case for the Dragons, most of the points were scored by one shooter, Andrew Burton.
     The second quarter followed a similar pattern, with HHS adding 11 points to the board and BHS 15. Coming back from halftime with a 36-19 lead, Burlington had a huge third period, racking up 23 more points and allowing only six from Holyoke.
     With a commanding 59-25 lead going into the fourth, Burlington backed off enough for Holyoke to really start scoring. It was in that quarter that all of Holyoke’s 3-pointers were made, with Burris, Kaison Kinnie and Isaiah Houghtelling scoring one apiece. The Dragons doubled their score, but in the end they still fell short 66-50.
     Burris was the team’s high scorer with 14 points. Miles Sprague added 12 himself. Ethan Johnson led in rebounds, pulling down six. From the free-throw line, HHS made half of six attempted. BHS shot 53 percent from the line, making eight of 15.

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