By John RittenhouseThe Adrian boys basketball team notched a pair of impressive wins on the road since Saturday.The Dragons nipped Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin by four points in Mountain Lake Saturday before securing a 10-point win in Windom Tuesday.The 8-6 Dragons host Westbrook-Walnut Grove Friday before playing at Southwest Christian Tuesday.Adrian 59, Windom 49The Dragons canned 49 percent of their field goals to help dispose of the Eagles by 10 points in Windom Tuesday.Solid shooting from the floor and the ability to handle Windom’s pressure defense proved to be the keys in Adrian’s second straight win."We handled their pressure, we got the ball inside and we made our shots," said AHS coach Chris Rozell.After sporting a 16-15 lead after eight minutes of play, Adrian gained some separation from the Eagles by outscoring the hosts 15-7 in the second period to open a 31-22 halftime cushion. The Dragons led by 12 (45-33) after the third quarter before winning by 10 at game’s end.Casey Knips, who pulled down 19 rebounds and blocked three shots in the game, netted six of his team-high 22 points in the second quarter for AHS. Brett Bock added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists to the winning cause. Nick Weidert scored 10 points and charted five steals.Box scoreBlock 5 1 1-2 14, Knips 9 0 4-8 22, Brake 5 0 0-1 10, Weidert 0 1 2-2 5, Klaassen 1 0 0-0 2, Stover 0 0 0-0 0, Lonneman 3 0 0-0 6.Team statisticsAdrian: 25 of 51 field goals (49 percent), seven of 13 free throws (54 percent), 40 rebounds, 16 turnovers.Windom: 21 of 72 field goals (29 percent), four of nine free throws (44 percent), 31 rebounds, 13 turnovers.Adrian 61, ML-B-O 57A strong start to the game led to a victorious finish when the Dragons traveled to Mountain Lake Saturday to take on the Wolverines.AHS rolled to an 18-6 lead in the first quarter and withstood a late challenge by ML-B-O to secure a four-point conference win.ML-B-O, which trimmed the difference to three points by halftime (28-25), took a one-point lead during the game’s fourth quarter. Adrian, however, played solid ball the rest of the period to prevail by four points at game’s end."We got good shots with every possession down the stretch and we made them," said Dragon coach Rozell. "We answered the challenge defensively, too."Block, who led AHS with 23 points and six assists, scored six points to lead the Dragons to a 12-point lead in the first quarter. Knips played well in the paint by pulling down 22 rebounds, scoring 16 points and blocking six shots. Weidert netted 11 points for the winners.Box scoreBlock 8 2 1-2 23, Knips 7 0 2-6 16, Brake 3 0 1-2 7, Weidert 1 2 3-4 11, Stover 1 0 0-0 2, Lonneman 1 0 0-0 2.Team statisticsAdrian: 25 of 59 field goals (42 percent), seven of 14 free throws (50 percent), 42 rebounds, 10 turnovers.ML-B-O: 18 of 76 field goals (24 percent), 13 of 20 free throws (65 precent), 21 rebounds, five turnovers.
