2A State in Manhattan 3rd Place game on Saturday, March 12th 

After starting the season 24-0, which included an improbable late comeback win in the last 80 seconds in the opening round of the state tournament, the Valley Falls Dragons closed their season at 24-2 with a loss to Lyndon 66-50 in the third place game at 2A. Playing for the third straight night and after falling to St. Mary's in the semifinals on Friday, the Dragons jumped to a 10-2 lead against Lyndon but wore down as the game went on.

Valley made just seven field goals in the second half and went 2-10 on three-pointers while trying to catch up from a 33-24 halftime deficit. The Dragons were also plagued by 14 turnovers while forcing just five and watched Lyndon made 13 of 18 free throws to seal the win. 

Avery Gatzemeyer hit two early treys and four more later in the game to finish with 20 points and also had a team high 8 rebounds but was the only Dragon to drain a triple.  Zac Evans added 13 and finished with 56 total points in the three state tourney games as the Dragons made the final four for the sixth time in school history and first apperance since 2001. Besides Evans, the other returning starter for next year, Dylan Cervantez also had 10 points in the final game of the year. 

The Valley Falls senior class of eight players captured their first league title since 2014 and posted back to back state tourney campaigns with a win against Colgan to open state this year that will be remembered forever.