The Lionhearted Lustre Boys Come From Behind to Win Eastern C Divisional

Lustre Christian paid tribute to their mascot namesake this past weekend at the Eastern C Divisional Tournament in Wolf Point with a lionhearted performance. The Lions fended off three teams hungry to upset the number one boys team in the state to claim the Divisional title and earn their first trip to the State Tournament in school history.

The Savage Warriors had the first shot at upending Lustre Christian and gave it their all, taking the Lions to overtime. Lustre outscored Savage 8-4 in the extra four minutes to take the 48-44 victory Thursday in the opening round of play. Froid/Lake was next on the Lions' agenda and started the game with a 6-0 run over the Lions in the first three minutes. A timeout from Lustre head coach Randy Reddig reset his team and they slowly built their lead up in the first half, going on to win 44-31.

The win advanced the Lions to the championship game Saturday night where they faced a must-win situation against the Fairview Warriors to avoid a challenge game against the Plentywood Wildcats. Fairview and Lustre had met once before this season, at the Scobey Invitational at the beginning of the season where Lustre handed the Warriors their lone loss of the season by a 48-42 score. Fairview held their upper hand for a good chunk of the game in Wolf Point, leading by as much as 13 points, but the Lions held together to win 51-50 in the last 14 seconds.

"The key is we never blinked. Our faith in each other and the system we have and who we represent definitely pulled us through these games. Thanking God for bringing this group together and the ride we are on," enthused Coach Reddig following one more memorable weekend in an historic year for his school's basket program.

Lustre hit the hardwood against a hungry Savage team Thursday. The Lions built up a 20-11 lead in the first quarter but a hot-shooting – 70 percent from the field – Warriors team claimed a 27-22 lead at the half. Lustre cut Savage's lead to 2 points by the end of the third, 35-33, and outscored the Warriors 7-5 in the fourth to send the game to overtime knotted at 40 points. A bucket from Elijah Lenihan and Braden Ewing plus two from Jasiah Hambira gave the Lions the edge they needed to win.

Cayden Klatt led the Lions with 15 points, hitting three shots from beyond the perimeter and three within. Lenihan added 10 with a 2-for-2 showing at the free throw line. Ewing added 9 with a bonus shot and Hambira scored 8 points. Clay Reddig and Byron Ewing, who exited the game in the late in the fourth with a tournament-ending injury, both scored 4 while Bryan Chen and Johnslee Pierre added a bucket each.

Both teams struggled at the line. Savage connected on 3-of-11 bonus shots while Lustre hit 3-of-10. Savage had 15 fouls in the game while Lustre held theirs to 12. Lenihan drew the officials' attention three times while Br. Ewing, By. Ewing and Hambira had two fouls a piece. Chen, Alex Chen and Pierre had one infraction each.

Lustre Christian put 29 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, 12 steals and 20 turnovers in the books.

By. Ewing led in boards with eight followed by Br. Ewing with six, Reddig five, Klatt four, Hambira three, Klatt and Lenihan two each and Pierre with one. Reddig, Klatt and Lenihan each had two assists while B. Chen and Br. Ewing had one a piece. Pierre, By. Ewing and Hambira stopped one Savage shot attempt each. B. Chen and Br. Ewing both had three steals with Klatt and Lenihan each notching two. Reddig and Hambira both added a takeaway.

After a slow start and a timeout against Froid/Lake on Friday, freshman Pierre came in off the bench and provided a much-needed spark for the Lions. After tying the game, the 6'5 had a breakaway off a steal, dunked and was fouled, sinking the bonus shot and firing up the always-loud Lustre crowd even more.

The Lions held a 9-8 lead at the end of the first and outscored the Red Hawks 8-5 in the second. The Lions returned to the court with renewed purpose and outscored Froid/Lake 11-2 despite Br. Ewing taking a seat after collecting his fourth foul on a charge call. Lenihan found his spot beyond the arc, a welcome sight for Lions fans.

Froid/Lake came out stronger in the fourth, attempting a comeback but both teams put up 16 points, leaving Lustre with a 13-point advantage at the final buzzer.

Lenihan led the Lions with 19 points, hitting four three-pointers, all in the second half, and going 3-for-4 at the line. Klatt added 7 with a 3-for-4 performance on free throws. Pierre's 7 points came in the first quarter. Br. Ewing and Hambira both added 5 with a free throw each and Reddig hit 1-of-2 bonus shots. The Lions shot 66 percent at the line on 15 attempts.

Lustre had 14 fouls in the game while Froid/Lake was called for 16. Br. Ewing avoided fouling out with clean play after sitting in the third. Lenihan had three calls against him while Pierre and Klatt had 2 each. Reddig, B. Chen and Hambira heard one whistle a piece.

The Lions had 29 rebounds, six assists, one block, eight steals and 12 turnovers. Br. Ewing led the team in boards with seven while Hambria grabbed four. Reddig, Lenihan and Pierre pulled down four each while Klatt had three and B. Chen two rebounds. Reddig and Lenihan split the team's assists with Pierre blocking a shot. Reddig and Pierre both had two steals. Klatt, B. Chen, Lenihan and Hambira notched one takeaway a piece.

With win number 22 on the season, Lustre advanced to the title tilt Saturday night against Fairview. Even with a guaranteed trip to the State Tournament, the Warriors played to win against Lustre, taking a 12-11 lead late in the first. The Lions battled back to tie the score 21-21 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

Fairview implemented their screen and roll in the second half, forcing Lustre in to defensive mismatches and running up their lead by outscoring the Lions 20-9 in the third quarter. Lustre pushed hard though against Warriors standout Hunter Sharbono and the Fairview player found himself with a fourth foul early in the fourth quarter. Klatt turned on the offense for Lustre, draining a couple treys to bring his team within 6 points. Sharbono fouled out and Klatt stepped up his game with another trey, bringing the Lions within 1 point. Pierre tied the game on a free throw but Fairview went up 50-47 on a shot from downtown. With 38 seconds remaining Hambira sank 2-of-2 free throws to bring the Lions back within 1 point.

With 14 clicks on the clock, Fairview sent Klatt to the line for 1-on-1 free throws. He tied the game on the first and scored the game-winning point on the second, draining his only two bonus shots of the game. A blocked shot by Hambira shut down Fairview's attempt at a go-ahead bucket. The Warriors fouled Reddig who went to the line. A missed free throw burnt up the clock and denied Fairview an inbound play and one last shot at the win.

Klatt led Lustre with 13 points, hitting three from downtown and two critical shots from the charity stripe. Lenihan added 11 with a trey and Hambira hit 4-of-5 free throws on his way to 10 points. Br. Ewing sank 2-of-2 free throws and scored 6 points while Pierre scored 5 with a free throw. Reddig hit two from the court and A. Chen sank both his free throws. The Lions shot 78 percent from the line.

Lustre held their fouls to nine in the game, five in the second half, while Fairview had 15 callas against them. Hambira had three fouls and B. Chen 2 calls. Reddig, Klatt, Lenihan and Pierre drew one whistle a piece.

The Lions had 18 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and five turnovers. Reddig grabbed six boards, Pierre four, Klatt and Br. Ewing three each and Hambira two. Reddig, Klatt and Lenihan each had an assist. The blocks came from Lenihan, Pierre and Hambira.

Lustre has seen fewer players from their deep bench hit the court as competition has increased in tournament time, but their coach highlighted their roles also. "I am most proud about the sacrifice these kids have made to get to this point. We have a lot of kids that can play and kids have sacrificed minutes and stats for the good of the team and our goals. It is so nice to see that pay off for them."

The Lions advance to the State Tournament for the first time in school history. "I absolutely could not be happier for the community of Lustre and all those former students and community members that still call Lustre home. The support we have received the last few years had been amazing. Feeling so thankful for all the people in our lives that allowed us to get to this point," Coach Reddig said. "This is so much bigger than just our group right here and now. All who have called Lustre home feel this one!"

Lustre Christian opens at the MetaPark in Billings Thursday, March , at 5 p.m. against the Big Sandy Pioneers. The boys and girls State Class C Tournament runs Wednesday through Saturday, March 8-11. Stan Ozark, Derek Beadle and Eli Feezell of KLTZ Radio will be on hand to cover all Lustre Christian Lions' (boys tournament) and North Country Mavericks' (girls tournament) games. Tournament brackets can be found at glasgowcourier.com.

Coach Reddig said, "At state we are going to continue to get everybody's best shot. I think everybody will do what they do best and see how everyone stacks up and adjust as we need to."