Pilgrims get a second weekend win

PLYMOUTH — It was a game of both teams coming off big Friday night wins — Plymouth over NLC foe Mishawaka, and Argos getting their first win over Bethany Christian — but it ended with Plymouth keeping their streak alive with a 58-28 win over the Dragons.
Far from being intimidated by the senior night surroundings at Plymouth, Argos seemed to thrive early on, jumping to a quick lead.
“We got off to a good start defensively and it built some confidence,” said Argos coach Nick Kindig. “It was kind of a game of runs there after time-outs.”
The teams traded points — and time outs — for the first eight minutes, but the Pilgrims were able to get some separation at the end of the quarter and would never trail again.
“I haven’t seen Argos play a lot of zone and we weren’t as ready for it as I would have hoped,” said Plymouth coach Greg Miller. “I’ll take the blame on that.”
“I don’t think we played to our standards for a little while,” he said. “I’m proud of our guys. To win by thirty and not be happy with how you played. We have a high standard, and we have to live up to that.”
While the Pilgrims slowly extended their lead over the night, the Dragons refused to go away and for the second night showed signs of things to come with their young squad. Turnovers have been a problem for Argos for most of the season but despite full-court pressure from the Pilgrims, they were able to weather the storm.
“We want to keep them under 12 but we had 26 last night (against Bethany Christian) and we were able to win,” said Kindig. “There are different types of turnovers. If you are denied on the perimeter and they get out in the passing lane and take it on a break for a free two points, or you’re being aggressive to the basket and it gets deflected behind.”
Unofficially the Dragons were close to their goal turning the ball over 15 times.
Meanwhile, Luke Stults went toe to toe with Plymouth’s Kadyn Ellery and was able to get some of his own being one rebound shy of a double/double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
“Luke does a lot for us and a lot is expected of him,” said Kindig. “I would say this might be the first time all year he’s been challenged by an opponent. It’s an adjustment for him. He always plays well, he always plays so hard. He’s a senior. He’s been around forever. He’s a player. We’ve got to get guys around him helping him and those guys have to score because of him.”
Kadyn Ellery had far from a quiet night with one of his best all-around games — 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and five steals — and was joined by another cast of great performers.
Trent Van Duyne hit for 17 points and four boards on senior night Dan Nguyen had 10 points and Kylen Ellery rounded out four Pilgrims in double figures scoring with 10.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things,” said Miller. “Putting them in positions to be successful I enjoy watching them be successful.”
“We are getting better,” he said. “I don’t think you’ve seen our best basketball yet. We aren’t as good as we want to be. We have to keep getting better and we want to be playing our best basketball in March.”
Plymouth (7-5) will start a run of three straight NLC road games Friday night at Concord. Argos (1-8) will be at home Friday against North Miami.