Lustre Wins Eastern C Divisional Championship
The Lustre Christian Lions shocked top-ranked and previously undefeated Scobey, 55-50, to win the Eastern C boys’ basketball championship on Saturday night.
“The boys had a very special week! All Glory to God,” Lustre Coach Randy Reddig said. “We started the tournament off a little slow, but the switch flipped during the second quarter of our seconnd game versus Brockton. We saw a few shots go in, and our energy on defense went through the roof, and we got on a roll.”
The Lions will now head to the Class C state tournament in Missoula where games start Wednesday, March 11.
Coach Reddig added, “We had a very good offensive and defensive effort versus Circle semi-final night and we carried that momentum through to championship night versus Scobey. I was very proud of the way the boys fought all week after having a little bit of a disappointing end to our district tournament two weeks ago. I would like to thank our families and fans for all the support throughout the week!”
Lustre wasted little time in establishing that the Lions were out to win the title on Saturday night. The Lions broke away from a 4-4 deadlock with seven straight points on a three-pointer by Cam Reddig and baskets by Joel Reddig and Prestyn Klatt.
After the Spartans closed the gap to 11-7, C. Reddig tallied five straight points. A three-pointer by Scobey’s Bram Handran closed the margin to 16-10 at the end of the opening quarter.
With the score at 20-15 midway into the second period, C. Reddig took the spotlight again as the junior hit consecutive three-pointers for a 26-15 advantage. Scobey responded with seven of the last nine points of the half for a 28-22 game.
The Lions came out firing in the third quarter as three-pointers by J. Reddig and C. Reddig put the margin at 34-22.
Scobey fought back with the next 13 points. A three-pointer by Handran put the Spartans up, 35-34, with 1:58 left in the quarter.
Lustre scored four of the last six points of the period on drives by Klatt and Johnslee Pierre for a 38-37 lead.
Baskets by C. Reddig producted a 42-37 lead for the Lions early in the fourth quarter. A drive by Pierre and a three-pointer by C. Reddig increased Lustre’s advantage to 47-37 with 3:21 remaining.
After Handran hit two baskets, John Carney came up with a steal and drive to cut the margin to 47-43 with 1:21 remaining.
The Lions added a point on a free throw by Hadden Olfert, but Carney made three free throws for a 48-46 margin with 46 seconds on the clock.
After C. Reddig came through with two free tosses with 42 seconds left, Scobey’s Reese Tande kept the heat on with a three-pointer.
Free throws by J. Reddig and Klatt gave Lustre a 5350 lead with eight seconds remaining. After Scobey missed a three-point attempt for a potential tie, J. Reddig sank two free throws for the 55-50 final.
Top scorers for Lustre were C. Reddig with 24 and J. Reddig with 10 points. Klatt and Pierre added eight points each. Also scoring were H. Olfer with three and Chris Traeholt with two points.
Leading Scobey were Handran with 18, Tande with 10 and Brecken Maher with nine points.
