The Blackduck Drakes boys basketball team opened their season last week with a tough loss against the visiting Red Lake Warriors, one of the best teams in the state.
Red Lake defeated Blackduck by a final score of 99-31. By halftime, the Warriors had already scored 70 points to Blackduck’s 11 points.
“We really played hard, and Red Lake is the second-ranked team in the state,” said Blackduck head coach Adam Ziegler after the game. “We’re a young team and they’re more experienced.”
“Their strengths are inside play, and that’s our strength, too,” he continued. “Every game is going to be different but we’ll work on inside play and ball handling. And Red Lake is just an unbelievable team.”
Mark Kingbird and Brody Savich led the Drakes in points with nine and eight, respectively.
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The Drakes finished 13-15 last year, ending their regular season with a loss against Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.
Ziegler said they are a “strong team” that “works well together” and “plays hard no matter what.”
Blackduck was scheduled to host Laporte on Tuesday night but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The Drakes’ next game is at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12 against the visiting Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears.
ROSTER Let’s take a look at this year’s roster:
No. 0: Isaac Volk, senior, forward
No. 1: Zach Rowe, sophomore, guard
No. 2: Jake Meixner, senior, guard
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No. 3: Dixon Patch, sophomore, center
No. 10: Angello Bell, senior, guard
No. 14: Brody Savich, sophomore, forward
No. 15: Mark Kingbird, sophomore, guard
No. 20: Kobe Arp, sophomore, center
No. 20: Noah Kuhlman, senior, guard
No. 21: Erik Ocampo, sophomore, forward
No. 25: Dylan Moen, freshman, guard
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No. 35: Ian Cease, senior, forward
Schedule Dec. 2: Red Lake 99, Blackduck 31
Dec. 6: Laporte, canceled
Dec. 8-9: Fosston tournament
Dec. 12 vs. Clearbrook-Gonvick, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 15 at Nevis, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 16 vs. Northome, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 vs. Cass Lake-Bena, 7:30 p.m.
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Dec. 22 at Deer River, 7:15 p.m.
Dec. 29 at Chisholm tournament, 6 p.m.
Dec. 30 at Chisholm tournament, 6 p.m.
Jan. 3 vs. Bagley, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 10 vs. Pine River-Backus, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs. Kelliher/Northome, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 17 at Laporte, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 at Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, 7:30 p.m.
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Jan. 23 at Clearbrook-Gonvick, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Red Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 2 vs. Fosston, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 vs. Cass Lake-Bena, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 vs. Nevis, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Pine River-Backus, 6 p.m.
Feb. 17 vs. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21 vs. Bigfork, 7:30 p.m.
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Feb. 23 vs. Northland, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 vs. Littlefork-Big Falls, 7:30 p.m.