Holyoke’s Luke Roberts seizes the ball from Dayspring Christian’s Eagles late Saturday afternoon during the Northeastern Junior College Holiday Tournament in Sterling, Colo. Though the Dragons lost to the Eagles 48-51, they picked up their first win on Monday against Sedgwick’s Cougars. — Andrew Turck | The Holyoke Enterprise
Holyoke boys step up, take win at NJC
Holyoke’s Dragons picked up their first win of the season Monday afternoon with a 51-38 victory over the Sedgwick County Cougars, leading into the boys consolation championship held Tuesday at the Northeastern Junior College Holiday Tournament. The three-day competition in Sterling, Colorado, ended for Holyoke with a fight for fifth place against the Akron Rams, though this final game could not be recorded at press time.
Before they defeated the Cougars, however, the Dragons fell to Dayspring Christian’s Eagles in a Saturday match-up ultimately decided in the game’s last 6.9 seconds of playtime. Down 48-51, the Dragons attempted to set up a 3-pointer. In the first three seconds, they managed to keep control of the ball at half-court when it got knocked of bounds; in the next three, a Holyoke player reached the sideline – perpendicular to the basket – and took the shot. It missed. The buzzer rang.
Examining the Dayspring game, Holyoke Head Coach Colbey Stumpf said his team has a habit of playing “three great quarters” with one “down” part. Against the Cougars, the Dragons led 14-10 by the end of the first quarter – guards Reid and Wyatt Sprague spearheaded the charge with seven points and five respectively – but gave up the lead in the final half of the second quarter. Dayspring’s Malachi Fast, who scored no points in the first quarter, became a thorn in Holyoke’s side, sinking 10 points in the second. By halftime, Dayspring led 28-21. At one point near the middle, Holyoke trailed by 10 points.
But then, in the third quarter, the Dragons upped their rebounding and began crashing the board. For a time, it seemed, the Eagles could not keep their hands on the ball for any significant length of time. Holyoke’s deficit turned into a surplus and they pulled ahead 41-38.
“I was proud of the way the boys – coming out of the second half – how they played and battled back,” Stumpf said. “That was nice to see some grit from them.”
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