Lustre Christian Finishes Historic Season at State With 24-2 Record

Lustre Christian's historic basketball season came to a conclusion at the 2022-23 Class C State Basketball Tournament in Billings this past weekend after the Lions went 1-2 at the final event of the year. The Lions entered the State Tournament as the top-ranked team through the season and as the number one seed out of the Eastern Division after coming from behind to defeat the Fairview Warriors in a historic first-ever divisional title for Lustre.

The Lions faced the Big Sandy Pioneers in the opening round Thursday. Lustre suffered an upset 60-47 loss in a physical game to Big Sandy, who won the 6-Man State Football championship this school year. The Pioneers came to State as the number two seed from the Northern Division.

The loss bumped the Lions to the back side of the bracket to face the Lone Peak Bighorns Friday morning. Lone Peak won a challenge game in the Western Division to earn their spot at State. After a tight first quarter and a Lone Peak lead early in the second, Lustre took control of the game. The Lions posted a 59-48 victory, their first at a state tournament, and kept their season alive.

Lustre moved into notoriously-tough Saturday morning action where they faced another physical game. The Belt Huskies, the 8-Man football champions this school year, came off a tough overtime loss the night before to the eventual-state champions, the Manhattan Christian Eagles. Belt came with strong defense while the Lions were unable to buy a bucket. The Huskies built up a 17-point lead in the first half, 29-12. The Lions found more of their game in the second half, but with shots still not dropping for them, lost 47-24.

Coach Randy Reddig told the Courier Sunday following the tournament, "We didn't play our best basketball of the season at the state tournament, which stings a little, but give the teams there a lot of the credit for that. We definitely had some nerves to start which is to be expected when we are used to playing in our local high schools and then going to a venue such as the Metra. Big Sandy and Belt were very physical teams top to bottom and gave us some problems. Very happy we got the win versus a talented Lone Peak team and proving to ourselves we belonged there. The state experience will definitely motivate us as players and coaches to be better in all areas. None of us have ever been on that stage before and we can all learn from the experience and look forward to the process of trying [to] get back there again."

In their first game at State, Lustre's nerves showed as the team ran into early foul trouble against a tough Big Sandy team. Big Sandy scored first and led throughout the game while the Lions worked to get shots to drop. The Pioneers proved their ability to shoot from everywhere on the court, from way outside the perimeter to put-backs inside the paint. The Lions found some net late in the opening quarter but Big Sandy led 17-10 at the end of the first. Big Sandy had four fouls in the first eight minutes while Lustre's number stood at six.

Big Sandy continued hitting well from the court in the second quarter, shooting 47.1 percent on 2-pointers and 40 percent on treys, while Lustre hit 29.4 percent of their shots inside the perimeter and 50 percent beyond the line. Shots from Clay Reddig, Elijah Lenihan and Cayden Klatt from three-point land in the first half kept Lustre well within reach of Big Sandy but fouls sent the Pioneers to bonus shots early in the second quarter. Big Sandy led 32-23 at the half with only three turnovers while the Lions had nine giveaways.

Lustre came out strong in the third, cutting Big Sandy's lead to 4 points midway through the quarter powered by the big men, Braden Ewing, Byron Ewing and Jasiah Hambira along with better defense for the Lions. A three by Klatt late in the quarter kept the Lions within 5 but a foul sent a Pioneer to the line with 1.2 seconds left to increase Big Sandy's lead to 44-37 when the buzzer sounded.

Momentum shifted back to Big Sandy early in the fourth as they muscled their way through play, drawing fouls on Lustre. Just over midway through the fourth, the Lions found themselves with seven fouls, sending the Pioneers into bonus shots. Lustre continued to play hard even, shooting much better in the second half from inside the perimeter but a few key missed shots turned into scoring opportunities for the Pioneers as they outpaced Lustre 16-10 in the final eight minutes. Lustre sent Big Sandy into double bonus free throws late in the quarter, giving up 14 points on 21 free throw attempts in the second to the Pioneers. Big Sandy won the upset 60-47 though the game was within the Lions' reach at times.

Lustre shot 54.5 percent inside the three-point line in the second half and 28.6 percent outside it. They connected on 19-of-50 total shots over 32 minutes for a 38 shot percentage. The Lions hit just 1-of-4 free throws. Big Sandy hit 40.4 percent from the court and 18-of-30 total free throws.

Lenihan led the Lions on the scoreboard with 15 followed by Reddig with 11 points. Klatt hit two from downtown for 6 and Br. Ewing added 5 with the lone Lions' free throw. Hambira and Johnslee Pierre scored 4 each and By. Ewing added a bucket.

The Lions had 23 fouls to Big Sandy's 10. Pierre and Br. Ewing fouled out while Hambira had four calls against him. Bryan Chen and Lenihan heard three whistles a piece while Reddig had two and Klatt one foul.

Big Sandy grabbed 33 rebounds while Lustre pulled down 32 boards. Pierre snagged seven and Lenihan had six for the Lions. Br. Ewing and Hambira grabbed four each, Br. Ewing three, Klatt and Chen two, and Alex Chen one. Klatt had five of the team's nine assists, while Reddig had three and A. Chen one. Lustre had 16 turnovers to Big Sandy's seven giveaways, giving Big Sandy 16 points off turnovers and Lustre 7 points. The Lions had two steals – from Klatt and Terran Joseph – while the Pioneers had seven takeaways.

Moved into loser-out action Friday, the Lions made a few adjustments offensively and defensively that paid off with their first state victory. Hambira put the Lions on the scoreboard first in a tight opening quarter. Baskets by Br. Ewing, Reddig and Klatt had the Lions tied 9-9 with the Bighorns until late in the quarter when Reddig put the Lions up 11-9 on a breakaway layup.

Lone Peak fought back early in the next quarter, taking the lead and going up 4 points at times, but the Lions had played from behind before and proved they were still capable. By. Ewing tied the game inside at 18-18 and a trey from Klatt way beyond the perimeter gave the Lions the lead again. Lustre continued to score to hold a 28-20 lead at the half while holding their fouls and turnovers to four. Lone Peak ended the first with two fouls and six turnovers.

After the break, the Lions racked up some crowd-pleasing plays. Br. Ewing was fouled on a dunk attempt, Hambira hit a trey, and Pierre notched a three-pointer and a tip-in. Both teams spent time at the line with Lustre sending Lone Peak to bonus shots late in the third. Br. Ewing picked up his second foul of the game, but it was to be his last after playing straight-up defense. Lustre outscored Lone Peak 14-10 to carry a 12-point lead into the fourth.

A few fouls on Lustre early in the final quarter shifted momentum to Lone Peak early, allowing the Bighorns to come within 5 points but drives into the key from Reddig and Lenihan put the Lions up by 9 moments later. A timeout from Lustre reset the Lions and a three from Reddig gave them a double-digit lead again. The Lions padded their lead from the field and the free throw line after pulling the offense out and forcing Lone Peak to foul to slow down the clock. Lustre went on to sink 12-of-17 second half free throws on the way to their 59-48 victory.

The Lions shot 39.6 percent from the field and 73.7 percent at the line while the Bighorns hit 30.8 percent from the field and 56.3 from the stripe over the course of the game. Klatt led Lustre with 16 points, hitting two from downtown and 4-of-4 free throws. Reddig added 11 with two treys, Hambira 9, Pierre 8, Br. Ewing 7, Lenihan 6 and By. Ewing 2 points. Lenihan had four assists with Reddig and Klatt notching two each.

Lustre pulled down 40 rebounds to Lone Peak's 31 boards. Pierre was a force with 14 boards and more uncounted tips to teammates. Reddig grabbed 6, Klatt and Hambira 5 each, Br. Ewing 4 and Lenihan and By. Ewing two a piece.

The Lions held their fouls to 14 with the Bighorns drawing 15 whistles. Reddig and Hambira had 4 calls each, Pierre and Br. Ewing two a piece while Klatt and Lenihan had one call against them.

Lustre had 12 turnovers and four steals while Lone Peak had nine turnovers and eight steals. Reddig, Klatt, Pierre and Br. Ewing each had a steal. Lustre had 12 points off turnovers and Lone Peak converted for 9 points.

Lustre advanced to Saturday morning action against the Huskies, a tough team on both ends of the court. Belt hit the hardwood with a dominant full-court press and half-court trapping defense while shooting hot. Lenihan and Reddig put Lustre on the scoreboard but the Huskies ran out to a 17-5 lead at the end of one, with a wild discus-style three-pointer that had no business going through the hoop for Belt at the buzzer.

The Lions continued to struggle with shots in the second, not scoring until midway through the quarter when By. Ewing muscled his way inside to score in the paint. Belt padded their lead with several more buckets, going up by 20 points late in the half until the Lions hit a couple of key shots. The Lions did block several Huskies' shots, preventing the game from getting further away from them. Still, Belt held a 29-12 lead heading into the intermission, shooting 50 percent from 2-point range and 30 percent from the perimeter. Lustre, meanwhile, hit 4-of-10 from inside the perimeter and just 1-of-8 beyond. Belt was called for seven fouls in the first half, giving up 1-of-3 free throws to the Lions, while Lustre held their infractions to five, allowing just 2-of-5 bonus shots.

Both teams saw lower scoring in the third with Belt outpacing Lustre 8-4. The Huskies saw more success with their pick-and-roll offense, a move that Lustre struggled with throughout the postseason. The Lions found success in breaking Belt's press after the intermission and continued to put blocks on the stats sheet but were unable to cut too much into the deficit from the first half.

Lustre was outscored by 2 points in the final eight minutes, finding the rim to be as much of a foe as the Huskies while the victors beat the Lions to the basket several times. The Lions ran through a number of player combinations on the floor, including going deep into their bench in the second, but were unable to find the chemistry needed to wage a comeback, losing their final game 47-24.

The Huskies shot 34.6 percent from the field and 53.8 percent at the line while the Lions hit 24.4 percent from the court, with their one free throw coming in the first half. Lenihan led Lustre with 8 points followed by By. Ewing with 5, Reddig 4, Pierre 3, and Br. Ewing and Hambira 2 each. Belt had 12 points off Lustre's 15 turnovers while the Lions converted the Huskies' nine turnovers to 3 points. Lenihan had three of the Lions' assists with Klatt notching the other.

The Lions held their fouls to 10 total while Belt had 12 infractions. Reddig, Klatt, and By. Ewing each had two. A. Chen, Lenihan, Br. Ewing and Hambira drew a whistle a piece.

Belt grabbed 41 rebounds to Lustre's 27 boards. Br. Ewing led the team with six, followed by Klatt, By. Ewing and Hambira, each with three. Reddig, Cam Reddig, and Lenihan snagged two a piece while Diek Olfert and Pierre both had one. The Lions had seven blocked shots to the Huskies' one. Hambira stopped three shots while By. Ewing and Br. Ewing each blocked two.

"The competition at state was definitely top notch. The teams are all well coached and prepared to take away what you do best," said Coach Reddig who expressed pride in his team for never quitting, even when trailing. "Looking forward to the challenge of getting better as a coach and helping the players get to the next level after going through this experience."

Lustre loses seniors B. Chen, A. Chen, Lenihan, Br. Ewing and Hambira. Coach Reddig thanked the leaders after their last game. He noted three of those athletes had never played basketball before coming to Lustre three years ago. Though he loses some top-notch athleticism, Coach Reddig now has a number of players with experience at the State Tournament and will look to build on this year's successes.

Looking at the team as a whole, he said, "I am very proud of the team and all they accomplished this year. They came together as brothers and met many of the goals that we set for the year. More importantly, I believe we all grew and are better people for the experiences we went through together."

Coach Reddig's pride in his team was reflected in the stands. The crowd on hand in Billings let their support be known, leaving no doubt as to their pride in their players, school and community.

"Our crowd was absolutely amazing! We had alumni from San Diego to Illinois and everywhere in between. They were loud and proud and we could not thank them enough for their support! Many came wearing their letter jackets and it was pretty cool to see the old school spirit from all those ex-players that dreamt of getting to State but came up short, including me," said Coach Reddig, underscoring the pride and pressure his players carried into the tournament. "Most people there were wondering where all our fans came from after looking up Lustre on Google Earth. It doesn't get any better as a coach or a player when you look into a crowd and see the sea of blue in the stands. Proud to be a Lion!"