By Jon Akre

605 Sports

“The mucky games that we win kind of go hand-in-hand with our defense, because we just go, we don’t really pick up full court, we play good half court defense, and we just pride ourselves. We’re big, we’re strong, we’re physical, we are just going to out-physical teams and not let them get to the rim and make ‘em take tough shots, and that really shows when they go and shoot 30% today.”

Especially when it comes to two teams in the Dak-XII, the familiarity aspect at a state tournament can turn into chippyness throughout.

“We played those guys back in January and it was another blood bath, physical battle,” said coach Hinker. The two teams that just played out on the court have played each other since third grade, have played each other in the summer, so they know each other so well.”

The Orioles were in control for most of the first half, garnering a two-point first quarter lead.

In the second, Talen Eich connected from long range on back-to-back possessions to help build a five-point halftime lead, marking one of six different players to score at least six points in the contest.

“I always say everyone on our team has to sacrifice a little bit for their role for the betterment of the team because we have so much balance,” said coach Hinker on the Oriole’s depth. “Talen Eich came in and had six points and hit two 3’s, and he plays like 10 minutes a game. So he knows going into his role that he’s got to go knock down shots and he did that on the big stage today.”

Lennox switched to another gear coming out of half going on a 13-5 run, extending the lead to 13 in just four minutes of the third quarter. WC fought its way back to a seven-point deficit, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Tate Gerdes pushed the lead back to double-digits going into the final eight minutes.

Gerdes led all scorers for the Orioles with 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

“It felt pretty good,” said Gerdes on the buzzer beater. “I just practice those shots when I’m messing around.”

In the fourth quarter the Trojans went on a run of their own in a last ditch effort to make a comeback. WC’s defense turned into offense with three layups off turnovers from Boche Knight, Elliot DeJong and Connor Mebius, adding a 3-pointer from 6-foot-9 junior Will Kuhl to cut the lead to three with four minutes to go.

“When you get to that eight to 10 point lead, there’s still a little bit of nerves because it’s ‘I don’t want to make a mistake that gets them back into it, I don’t want to take a bad shot that gets them into it’,” said coach Hinker. “And then that leads to the uncharacteristic mistakes that go with it.”

Out of the media timeout Lennox got a quick layup from Teegan Musser to regain a two-possession lead, a basket coach Hinker says was key in the win.

“We came in, called a set, Tate Gerdes made a really good play, passed it to Teegan Musser and Teegan Musser finished it at the rim and it got back up to five, and I think once we got past that it was just what we needed.”

Musser reached double figures as well for Lennox finishing with 11 points, adding four rebounds as well.

“It feels great,” said Musser on the win. “We just trusted what we put into the preparation, trusted in each other, and it really worked out in the end”

Aiden Hanssen scored eight points for Lennox, while Layton Smith, Boston Katzer and Eich each netted six points as well.

WC’s Kuhl netted 12 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals while Mebius added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals on just 4-for-23 shooting.

The Orioles advance to Friday night’s semifinals with the win, facing yet another Dak-XII opponent in a rematch from a prior loss earlier this season. 

“We had them right to the wire and we’re going to see a different Sioux Falls Christian team than we saw in game one of the season, they’re good,” said Hinker.

Hinker says his squad just needs to stick their brand of basketball to knock off the top seed in Class A.

“We’re going to have to play our game. It’s got to get physical out there again and we got to out-physical them, that’s number one. But we’re also just going to have to limit their possessions by not turning it over, not giving up offensive rebounds, all those little things that kind of add up to getting them more possessions.”