Adrian senior guard Dusty Henning sets up to shoot the ball during Saturday’s basketball game against Southwest Star Concept in Adrian. Henning scored six points and snared eight rebounds during a 62-59 loss to the Quasars.
By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian boys’ broke into the win column Tuesday by pulling out a one-point victory over Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Tyler.
The win followed a two-point loss to Southwest Christian in Edgerton Friday and a three-point home loss to Southwest Star Concept Saturday.
Adrian, 1-3 overall, plays in Mountain Lake tonight and at Edgerton Public Tuesday. The Dragons host Luverne Friday.
Adrian 54, R-T-R 53
A pair of clutch free throws down the stretch gave the Dragons a one-point win over the Knights Tuesday in Tyler.
After leading most of the game, Adrian found itself facing a 53-52 deficit late in the game. Dragon Pete Hohn was fouled with 12 seconds left, and the senior drained a pair of charity shots to provide Adrian with the game-clinching points.
Adrian sported 14-4, 28-21 and 40-38 leads at the first three quarter breaks before winning the contest in dramatic fashion.
"We didn’t play real well, but we got our first win," said Dragon coach Chris Rozell. "Hopefully, after losing three close games, this one will bring some confidence back."
Hohn’s free throws capped a 12-point, three steal, three-assist performance. Kyle Knips had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Casey Knips latched on to 12 rebounds, and Brandon Wolf recorded seven assists.
Box score
Hohn 5 0 2-2 12, Wolf 1 0 1-1 3, Henning 1 0 0-0 2, Spieker 3 0 0-0 6, Block 1 0 0-0 2, Lynn 2 0 0-0 4, K.Knips 7 0 0-1 14, Brake 1 0 0-0 2, C.Knips 4 0 1-3 9.
Team statistics
Adrian: 24 of 60 field goals (40 percent), four of seven free throws (57 percent), 40 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
R-T-R: 21 of 64 field goals (33 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent), 30 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
SSC 62, Adrian 59
Three free throws in the game’s final minute gave the Quasars a three-point victory over the home-standing Dragons Saturday.
Adrian, which led 47-45 entering the fourth quarter, found itself facing a 56-52 deficit before battling back to tie the score at 56 and 59 late in the period.
SSC’s Tyler Leopold snapped the deadlock by draining a pair of free throws with less than one minute remaining, and another charity shot by Jody Hansen with 8.4 seconds remaining provided the Quasars with a three-point win.
SSC led 10-7 in the first quarter before Adrian put together a 9-0 run featuring five points from David Brake to take a 16-10 lead.
The Quasars trimmed the difference to three points (16-13) by the end of the first quarter before outscoring AHS 20-9 in the first six minutes of the second quarter to open a 33-25 lead.
A field goal by Adrian’s Casey Knips capped a 5-0 run to bring the Dragons within three points at 33-30, but SSC scored four of the final six points of the first half to sport a 37-32 lead at intermission.
Adrian pulled within one point of SSC three times in the third quarter before moving in front 43-42 with a field goal from Kyle Knips at the 1:27 mark. The game was tied at 45 when Dragon Dusty Henning converted an offensive rebound into a field goal with one second remaining to give AHS a 47-45 lead heading into the fateful fourth quarter.
Brake led the Dragons in scoring with 17 points. Kyle Knips added 13 points and snared seven rebounds. Henning and Casey Knips grabbed eight rebounds each, Pete Hohn charted five assists and four steals, and Brandon Wolf recorded four steals.
Box score
Hohn 4 0 0-0 8, Wolf 1 1 1-2 6, Henning 3 0 0-0 6, Klingenberg 0 0 0-0 0, Spieker 1 0 0-0 2, Block 1 0 0-0 2, Lynn 1 0 1-2 3, K.Knips 5 0 3-4 13, Brake 5 0 7-10 17, C.Knips 1 0 0-0 2.
Team statistics
Adrian: 23 of 60 field goals (38 percent), 12 of 18 free throws (67 percent), 40 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
SSC: 17 of 58 field goals (29 percent), 23 of 35 free throws (66 percent), 38 rebounds, seven turnovers.
SWC 53, Adrian 51
The Dragons made a bid to upset four-time defending state champion SWC before falling two points short in Edgerton Friday.
Adrian, which sported a four-point lead during the fourth quarter, had a player on the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with three seconds remaining.
After the first charity shot was missed, Dragon coach Rozell instructed his player to intentionally miss the second shot in hopes of getting a rebound. The player followed the instructions, and Adrian did rebound the missed free throw, but the potential game-tying shot was off the mark.
SWC sported 15-10, 24-20 and 36-34 leads at the first three quarter breaks.
Pete Hohn scored 17 points, nabbed seven rebounds and led the Dragons with five assists. Wolf added 15 points, Casey Knips had nine rebounds and Cliff Lynn chipped in four steals.
Box score
Hohn 7 0 3-4 17, Wolf 1 4 1-3 15, Henning 0 1 4-4 7, Klingenberg 0 0 0-0 0, Spieker 1 0 3-5 5, Block 0 0 0-0 0, Lynn 0 0 0-0 0, K.Knips 1 0 3-6 5, Brake 0 0 0-0 0, C.Knips 1 0 0-1 2.
Team statistics
Adrian: 16 of 39 field goals (41 percent), 14 of 23 free throws (61 percent), 33 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
SWC: 16 of 40 field goals (40 percent), 11 of 26 free throws (42 percent), 28 rebounds, 18 turnovers.