Photo by Jake Przytarski RTR’s Shawna Thomsen goes up for a shot during their game against Adrian/Ellsworth on Saturday. The Knights fell to the Dragons 58-45.

TYLER –The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton boys and girls basketball teams welcomed Adrian/Ellsworth to their home court on Saturday where the Dragons notched consecutive victories to sweep the afternoon doubleheader.

The loss moves the RTR boys to 2-3 on the season, while the girls fall to 0-6.

Adrian/Ellsworth 58, RTR 45 (Girls)

The Knights entered Saturday’s contest in search of their first win of the season but were unable to secure it as a result of inconsistent play on both ends of the floor.

Knights’ coach Steve Krause said maintaining a consistent level of play will be something the team strives for moving forward.

“We just have to get beyond playing inconsistent,” said Krause. “We play well for a while, then we just kind of lose it. We have to get beyond that as a team.”

It was a back-and-forth start for the two teams in the first half with eight lead changes taking place before the Dragons jumped ahead on the scoreboard at 22-20. For the remainder of the half and the rest of the game, Adrian/Ellsworth kept the lead in its possession thanks in part to a decided advantage in rebounding.

Krause said the team needs to do a better job of boxing out in upcoming games in order to eliminate second chance points.

“(Rebounding is) something that we definitely have to get better at,” said Krause. “We need to box out better.”

After closing out the half with an eight-point lead at 32-24, the Dragons saw their lead grow to double digits for the first time at 43-33 following a 6-0 run midway through the final frame. The Knights responded with an 8-0 run of their own to come within two points of tying the game at 43-41, but the shots stopped falling after the brief surge as Adrian/Ellsworth went on to outscore RTR 15-4 to secure the win.

In addition to the emphasis put on improving their rebounding effort, Krause hopes to see the team take a step forward in making layups.

“(We need to focus on) just making the easy shots that we missed,” said Krause. “You miss 10-12 easy shots that’s 20-25 points that we left out there, and we should have them. All of those.”

The Knights will be back in action today against Edgerton at 6 p.m. on their home court.

Adrian/Ellsworth 73, RTR 54 (Boys)

Interior defense and ball-control were sorely lacking for the Knights in Saturday’s matchup with Adrian/Ellsworth as the Dragons dominated in the paint and used multiple to steals to create fast break points in the win.

RTR coach Ted Kern said his team’s inability to contain the Dragons inside played to their strengths.

“We definitely got outmanned,” said Kern. “We were just not strong in the physical aspect of the game today, and that definitely plays into Adrian/Ellsworth’s strength. (It was a) tough matchup for us particularly on the inside and all we can do (now) is get better.”

In spite of the advantage held by Adrian/Ellsworth on the inside, the Knights were able to generate some rhythm offensively early on through their work on the outside as Payton Hess knocked down a 3-pointer for the team’s first basket. Hayden Gravley followed suit minutes later with a pair of baskets of his own to help guide RTR to a 12-11 lead.

After going basket for basket with the Dragons for a majority of the half, Adrian/Ellsworth began to pull away late with an 11-2 run to take their largest lead at 22-14. A three-point basket by Corbyn Sitzmann brought the Knights back to within five points moments later, but Dragons closed out the half outscoring the Knights 11-7 to take a 38-29 lead into halftime.

RTR appeared well on its way to knotting the game up in the opening minutes of the second half with baskets by Hess and Aiden Wichmann highlighting a 10-4 run that brought the Knights back to within three points at 42-39. Unfortunately, turnovers and an inability to limit Adrian’s post-presence provided too big of a hurdle to overcome as the Dragons pushed back with a 9-0 run that put them back in control with a 51-39 lead.

Kern said lack of ball-control played a large factor in the team’s struggles on Saturday, though he is pleased with the strides they’ve made so far this season.

“(Turnovers were) huge, and a lot of that comes down to strength too. Being strong with the ball on the inside and making good decisions,” said Kern. “We’re making strides but we’re not there yet.”

With no answer or the Dragons’ dominance inside, along with turnovers eliminating the possibility of generating any rhythm on the offensive end, Adrian/Ellsworth cruised to a 73-54 victory.

The Knights will be on the road in Tracy for their next matchup on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Kern hopes to see improvements made in multiple areas in the team’s upcoming matchups.

“(We want to improve) a little bit of everything,” said Kern. “Definitely our ball-control would be a big thing. Definitely our defensive rebounding, and just closing out possessions both offensively and defensively.”