By GREG MENGELT

It hasn’t exactly been the start to the season that Silver Creek expected through the first month-plus.

The two-time defending state champion Dragons, who would’ve been one of the favorites to win three straight had Covid not forced the postponement of the 2019 state tournament, were 4-5 heading into their traditional holiday tournament.

Silver Creek, which finished seventh by going 1-2 at the Jefferson County Invitational the prior week, thumped Clarksville in the semifinal before Saturday’s big 51-39 win over Providence in the championship game.

The victory over the Pioneers gives the Dragons their fifth straight Silver Creek Holiday Tournament championship and the honor of Hoosier Hills Hoops Win of the Week.

“It was a great win for our team in terms of beating a quality opponent,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “Our Holiday Tournament has a lot of meaning to our community.”

The Dragons trailed 23-19 early in the third period but outscored Providence 15-8 the remainder of the third period and 17-8 in the fourth.

“I thought our guys fought hard and a lot of it came down to some made and missed shots. Luckily we were on the winning side of it,” Hoffman said. “I was really proud of how our guys played the last 3 minutes of the game, where we were able to make some winning plays in the guts of the game.”

Brandon Northern scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds despite getting the bulk of the Pioneer defense’s attention. Zac Stricker, Trey Schoen and Walker Hoffman combined for 28 points in the victory.

“Northern garnered a lot of Providence’s attention on our offensive end, either being double teamed or junk defense,” Hoffman said. “ This created some scoring opportunities for others.”