Dragons lose a tough one in Merino Friday, destroy Nederland 78-16 at home Saturday

    A tough 48-62 loss in Merino Friday, Jan. 27, was quickly followed by a smashing 78-16 win over Nederland at home Saturday, Jan. 28, for Holyoke’s boys basketball team.
    While the back-to-back games were day and night, coach Scott Dille said that overall, he thought they learned some things through the weekend that they could use down the road.
    In the Merino game, some of it was what not to do. “We need to move a lot better on the offensive end of the floor,” said Dille. “We stand and watch a lot and didn’t set very many screens, and the ones we set weren’t very good.”
    Still, the coach liked the energy the Dragons showed at the end of the game, when the boys managed to pick up 19 points in the final quarter. “That energy is what we need to bring all the time,” Dille said.
    Against Nederland, Dille was very pleased with the team’s energy, as well as the opportunity to try a few different combinations of players on the floor in the 78-16 blowout game. Defense set the tone for the Dragons, said Dille.
    
    Holyoke 48, Merino 62
    For Friday’s matchup in Merino, Holyoke was behind for most of the game, kicking it into gear in the final quarter but still taking a 48-62 loss.
    The Dragons were down just five points after the first quarter 14-19, but fell to a 21-32 deficit by halftime, scoring only seven points in the second quarter.
    The Merino Rams led 45-29 after the third quarter, but Holyoke mustered a respectable 19 points in the last quarter, helped along by two 3s by Arturo Dominguez and another by M.J. Taylor.
    However, the Rams gained 17 points in the final quarter, with nine of them coming from free throws. Holyoke lost 48-62.
    Taylor led in points with 16, followed by Alex Strauss with 15. Austin Herman had the most rebounds with eight, including four offensive and four defensive, and Strauss had five assists. Herman put up three blocks, and Taylor put up one.
  

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