For the first time since 2019, the Lennox High School boys’ basketball team took the court at the South Dakota State A Tournament, held this past weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Entering the tournament as the fifth seed, the Orioles played three hard fought games, earning them a fourth place finish among the best teams in the State.
Opening Round Victory
Over West Central
On Thursday, March 20, Lennox faced off against fourth-seeded West Central, a team that had bested them in the regular season. This time, the Orioles turned the tables, securing a 51-43 victory behind one of their top defensive performances of the season.
“The boys were motivated for this basketball game as they had beaten us in the regular season,” head coach Jacob Hinker said. “This was one of our top defensive performances of the year, and we hit timely shots to keep ourselves going offensively. In a state tournament, it is easy to get caught up in everything that is going on and sometimes look ahead. The boys stayed laser-focused on the task at hand and played a great game.”
Lennox led 39-26 with 3:57 left in the third quarter before a scoring drought allowed West Central to cut the deficit to 39-32 with 58 seconds remaining in the third. However, Tate Gerdes hit a clutch buzzer-beater to extend the lead to 42-32 heading into the final quarter.
West Central kept pushing and cut the lead to 44-41 with 4:07 left, prompting a Lennox timeout. Teegan Musser responded with a quick basket to make it 46-41. A key defensive stop led to a foul on Boston Katzer, who sank two free throws with 1:10 left, extending the lead to 48-41. Free throws down the stretch from Aiden Hanssen and Musser sealed the win for the Orioles.
Leading the way for Lennox was Gerdes, who nearly posted a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Gerdes also had three assists in the game. Musser added 11 points and four rebounds, going four of six from the field. Hanssen contributed eight points and grabbed one rebound. Layton Smith controlled the boards with seven rebounds. He also contributed six points and had two assists and one block.
Katzer chipped in six points and pulled down five rebounds and had two assists.
Talen Eich finished with six points, hitting two key three pointers in the opening half to get the team going. He also had two rebounds. Drake Mikkelsen provided two points and had five rebounds.
Tough Semifinal Loss to
Sioux Falls Christian
The victory set up a semifinal clash against top-seeded Sioux Falls Christian on Friday, March 21. The Orioles held their own in the first half, trailing by just eight at halftime, but a third-quarter surge from Sioux Falls Christian proved too much to overcome, leading to a 71-51 loss.
“We ran into a very focused and motivated Sioux Falls Christian team that had gotten runner-up the year before,” Hinker said. “We were in a good spot towards the end of the first half, and then a Sioux Falls Christian run put them up eight going into halftime. Then a mid-third quarter run put them up 18 points, which made it really tough to battle against the eventual state champs. We battled through the fourth quarter and had chances to cut it to single digits but just couldn’t quite get there.”
Lennox trailed 39-30 with 4:32 left in the third quarter, but Sioux Falls Christian extended their lead to 42-30 shortly after. A dominant stretch by the Chargers saw the Orioles’ deficit grow to 54-33 by the final moments of the quarter, proving too much for Lennox to overcome.
Despite the loss, Gerdes once again led Lennox with a double-double, scoring an impressive 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also had one assist and one steal. Hanssen added 10 points, going four of eight from the field, including two three pointers in the game. Smith finished with seven points, going three of six from he field. He also grabbed five rebounds and had two assists. Musser finished with six points, three rebounds and two assists. Eich scored three points for Lennox and Katzer finished with two points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Heartbreaking Loss in
3rd/4th Place Game
In the third/fourth place match-up on Saturday, March 22, Lennox squared off against No. 3 Rapid City Christian. The game was a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final moments, but 23 turnovers ultimately cost the Orioles in a heartbreaking 60-58 defeat.
“All day leading up to this game, the boys were loose and soaking in their last day of the state tournament,” Hinker said. “We knew that Rapid City Christian was going to come motivated to play on the final day after losing a game the night before. Ultimately in this game, 23 turnovers ended up being too much to overcome to win the basketball game. We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state and just couldn’t quite make enough plays in the fourth quarter to finish the game how we wanted to.”
The first half saw multiple lead changes, with Lennox ahead 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. A three-pointer from Hanssen gave Lennox an 18-17 lead early in the second, but the teams battled to a 26-28 halftime score in favor of RCC.
In the third quarter, Lennox tied the game at 34-34 after a three-pointer from Hanssen. Another three from Gerdes put Lennox ahead 37-34. The Orioles extended their lead to 48-42 with 1:20 left in the third. However, RCC fought back, and Lennox led just 48-45 heading into the final quarter.
Lennox trailed 50-48 with 4:36 left in the fourth, before Katzer answered with a three-pointer to make it 51-50. in favor of the Orioles. However, RCC responded with a three pointer of their own to regain the lead, 53-51. The Comets went on a scoring run and led by six with 1:31 left in the game.
After a time out by the Orioles, Musser connected on a jumper to pull the Orioles within four with 1:09 left. Smith then scored in the paint to pull Lennox within two, 57-55, with just 25 seconds remaining in the game.
In the closing moments, missed buckets by Lennox and clutch free throws by RCC, allowed them to take the 60-58 win.
Gerdes once again put up a standout performance, leading Lennox with 24 points and nine rebounds. He also had three assists. Musser finished with nine points, going four of six from the field. He also had four rebounds and a block. Katzer added eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. Hanssen also finished with eight points. He pulled down four rebounds and had one assist before fouling out of the game. Smith finished with four points, six rebounds and one block. Cole Spieler had three points, one rebounds and Eich provided two points, one rebound.
Following the tournament, Gerdes was recognized for his outstanding play by being named to the All-Tournament Team.
“One of the best things about a state tournament is seeing the community come together and give our team an experience that was unmatched by any other team at the state tournament,” Hinker said. “I was so proud of our boys and the whole entire community for showcasing ourselves in front of the state at the levels we did.”
With a 20-6 record on the season, the Orioles proved they belonged among the state’s best.