Hard-Won Hardware

The Lustre Lions boys basketball team continued their historic run – after earning a first-time trip to the State Tournament last year – by bringing home hardware this year. Lustre went 3-1, capping off the weekend with a 53-43 Consolation Game victory over the Harlowton-Ryegate Engineers, after going 1-2 in last year's tournament.

The Lions started the tournament Wednesday with a 51-44 win over the Melstone Broncs and advanced to the semifinals where they faced the two-time defending state champions, Manhattan Christian Eagles. Lustre battled through adversity in the game but fell short at the final buzzer, 48-42.

The loss bumped the Lions to the back side of the bracket and into an Eastern C Divisional title rematch on Friday. Lustre battled back from a first-half deficit to win with a huge fourth quarter, 58-44. The win moved the Lions into the Consolation Game and their first state hardware.

Lustre started the game Wednesday against Melstone with a few turnovers before the Broncs lit up the scoreboard. Cam Reddig tied the game at 2-2 and put the Lions up with a trey. Free throws kept the Broncs close in the first quarter before Reddig and Johslee Pierre hit field goals to give Lustre a 12-8 lead at the buzzer.

Lustre turnovers and missed shots allowed Melstone to tie it up before Terran Joseph and Pierre broke the ties. A field goal from Byron Ewing and a trey from Pierre put the score at 24-18, Lustre advantage, heading into halftime.

Melstone went on a 5-0 run to start the third quarter with Lustre finally lighting up the scoreboard with 4:25 left on a three-pointer from Pierre. Ewing extended the lead back to 5 with a pair of free throws. Pierre went on a 7 point run to extend Lustre's lead to 35-23, forcing a Melstone timeout. He added another 6 before the end of the quarter, including two dunks for a 41-30 lead heading into the fourth.

The Broncs fought back in the fourth, coming within 2 points of tying the game at 45-43 with 1:53 left on the clock. Pierre put the Lions back up by 4 and Reddig hit a three pointer before each team hit a free throw for a final score of 51-44.

The Lions shot 46.7% from the floor and just 40% from the free throw line with 32 rebounds, 11 points off turnovers, 9 second chance points, and 10 points off the bench to Melstone's 29.8% field goal shooting, 68.4% free throw shooting, 18 points off turnovers, 7 second chance points and 2 points off the bench.

Pierre did the lion's share of the work, leading all scorers with 30 points, hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers. Reddig added 10 from the bench followed by Joseph and Ewing, both with 5 points. Clay Reddig hit a free throw in the win, while leading the team in assists with seven. Cayden Klatt had four helpers, Pierre three, and Cam Reddig two.

Ewing dominated the boards, pulling down 10 rebounds, followed by Cam Reddig with seven, Pierre, six, Clay Reddig five, Klatt two and Joseph one. Cam Reddig had three steals and Clay Reddig two. Klatt, Joseph and Pierre each had a takeaway. Clay Reddig and Pierre knocked down two Broncs shots each and Cam Reddig stopped one.

The Lions made the State semifinals for the first time in school history with the win, but found themselves facing the notoriously tough Eagles, two-time state champions in their 10th straight appearance at State. Lustre hit the court ready to play in the first quarter, draining four three-pointers and leading 20-14 after 8 minutes after some back-and-forth action. Klatt, Clay Reddig, Pierre, Ewing, Cam Reddig and Joseph all scored in the quarter, with Joseph draining a buzzer-beater trey to get the Lions to 20 points.

The second quarter was a much different story as the Lions' offense went ice cold and the Eagles went on a 10-0 scoring run in the 8 minutes before the half. A buzzer-beater from Eagles standout Mason Venema put the defending champs up 24-20 heading into the second half.

Lustre fought back in the third, powered by Pierre, Clay Reddig, Cam Reddig and Klatt, while giving up a number of second chance shots to the Eagles. Klatt hit a trey late in the quarter to bring the Lions within 1, 34-33.

The Lions came on strong early in the fourth, powered in part by the defensive strength of Cam Reddig, and at one point led 42-41. A pair of free throws from Manhattan Christian's Isaac Hoekema put the Eagles back up 43-42 with 1:56 left in the game and started a 7-0 run. The Eagles won the game 48-42.

Lustre shot just 33.3% from the field, going 6-for-21 beyond the arc, and hit both their free throws in the game. They were outrebounded 36-25. Both teams earned 10 points off turnovers but Manhattan Christian scored 13 off second chances while Lustre only hit for 2 points. The Lions had 9 points off the bench, while the Eagles got 10 from theirs.

Klatt led the Lions with 11 points, hitting 3-of-9 three-pointers. Pierre put up 10, followed by Cam Reddig with 9, Clay Reddig 7 and Joseph with 5 points. Clay Reddig and Cam Reddig each had three assists with Klatt and Ewing notching one each.

Ewing grabbed eight and Pierre seven rebounds for Lustre followed by Clay Reddig with three. Klatt and Joseph both had two boards and Cam Reddig one. Cam Reddig had three steals for the Lions while Joseph had two and Pierre and Ewing one a piece. Joseph and Pierre both stopped one Eagles shot.

Lustre entered loser-out play against the Plentywood Wildcats Friday and had to battle hard to keep the dream of hardware alive. The Lions controlled the opening tip but Plentywood lit up the scoreboard first on a field goal from Landon Flickenger and a trey from Carson Solberg. Ewing put the Lions on the scoreboard and Pierre added to the score, but the Lions trailed 13-10 when the horn sounded at the end of the first.

The second quarter started with a 5-0 Plentywood run as the Lions continued to have issues getting their shots to drop. The Wildcats sent Cam Reddig to the line for an old-fashioned three point play. Plentywood padded their lead but field goals from Cam Reddig and Pierre, plus a three-pointer from Klatt, brought the Lions within 1 point at the half, 23-22.

The Lions regrouped at the half and came back strong in the final two quarters. Joseph hit a jumper to get them going, but it took a timeout after two Plentywood field goals for the Lions to really kick it up. Cam Reddig hit a fadeaway jumper to bring the Lions within 1 and Pierre put them up with a 15-foot jumper, 28-27. Solberg hit a trey for the Wildcats' lead again, but Pierre tied it and a Ewing putback earned Lustre another lead. Plentywood would tie the game three more times but a Clay Reddig drive into the paint at the buzzer gave the Lions a 40-38 lead.

The Lions took control in the final quarter as the Plentywood offense went cold, going on an 18-6 run to close out the game. Lustre found half of those points at the free throw line.

Lustre shot 44.4% from the field, 2-for-12 on threes, with a 69.6% free throw percentage compared to Plentywood's 34% field goal shooting, 6-for-21 on threes, and 100% on six free throws. THe Lions outrebounded the Wildcats 32-26, while getting 9 points off turnovers to Plentywood's 4 points. The Lions had 12 second chance points to the Wildcats' 4, and had 18 points off the bench while Plentywood saw scoring from their starting five only.

Pierre and Cam Reddig led all scorers with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Cam Reddig hit 8-of-9 from the line while Pierre was 6-for-8 on free throws. Clay Reddig added 10 points while Klatt and Ewing both had 4 points. Joseph added a field goal. Clay Reddig and Klatt each had two assists while Cam Reddig and Pierre had one a piece.

Ewing pulled down 13 boards and Pierre 10, giving the latter a double-double. Klatt grabbed three as Clay Reddig, Joseph, Prestyn Klatt and Cam Reddig snagged one each. Cam Reddig and Pierre each had two steals as Klatt, Joseph and Ewing put one a piece in the books. Cam Reddig had the lone blocked shot in the game.

The win made Lustre Christian school history again as the team advanced to the Consolation Game Saturday to face the Harlowton-Ryegate Engineers. The game looked to be off to a rough start for the Lions as they struggled to find their offense early. The Lions controlled the tip but saw the Engineers go up 6-0 before they called a timeout for a reset. That reset looked all but certain as a Pierre dunk fired the Lions fans.

The Engineers led 11-2 late in the quarter when a technical foul on the Engineers coach sent Cam Reddig to the line. He hit the second, putting the Lions down by 8. With just 2.5 seconds left on the clock and the Lions in possession, the "Klatt Attack" hit a thee-pointer at the buzzer to double the Lions score.

Clay Reddig hit early in the second from Cam Reddig to cut into the Engineers lead, 11-8, but Harlowton answered with a free throw and two more field goals. Ewing, Clay Reddig and Cam Reddig kept the points coming for Lustre though, and the Lions trailed only 19-17 going into the half.

The Lions' late momentum carried over into the third as they outpaced the Engineers 17-13. Clay Reddig, Cam Reddig and Pierre drove the Lions offense to a 34-32 lead going into the final quarter.

The three plus Ewing continued the scoring onslaught in the last 8 minutes as Lustre outpaced Harlowton 19-11, with another 9 points for Lustre coming from the charity stripe. The Lions' largest lead came in the third – 47-33 – and they led 53-40 with 15 seconds left but a Pierre foul on Kenyan Davis sent him to the line for three, all of which he sank.

Harlowton shot 34.9% from the field, 2-for-16 on threes, with a 68.8 free throw percentage while Lustre hit 40% from the field, 5-for-17 on three-pointers, and 69.6% from the free throw line. The Lions had just 6 points off turnovers while Harlowton scored 16 off the Lions' giveaways. Lustre edged Harlowton-Ryegate 8-5 in second chance points, while also getting 18 off the bench to the Engineers' 3 points from subs.

Cam Reddig led all scorers with 18 points, hitting 2-for-3 from downtown and 8-of-9 at the line. Clay Reddig added 15 with 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-7 at the line. Pierre scored 11 followed by Ewing with 6 and C. Klatt with 3 points. Clay Reddig, Klatt and Cam Reddig all had three assists and Ewing had one helper.

Ewing led the team in rebounds with seven, followed by Pierre with five, Clay Reddig four, C. Klatt two and Cam Reddig one. Clay Reddig, C. Klatt, Joseph and Pierre all had one steal. Klatt had two blocked shots while Clay Reddig had one.

"As we drove home yesterday, exhausted, I felt very thankful and blessed for the season we had. We had a group of kids that came together as family and made history for our school again! Very thankful for their efforts and how they represented our community," Head Coach Randy Reddig told the Courier. "They showed a lot of heart all tournament long when getting down at the beginning of games or bouncing back from a tough semifinal loss to Manhattan Christian. The kids fought through to the end!

"Also, very thankful to our community in Lustre and the surrounding area. I am very proud to be from northeast Montana and just want to thank all those involved from our (coaches) wives and families, parents, fans, school staff, KLTZ radio that allowed those that stayed back to listen, Opportunity Bank for all the snacks for the trip, and all those I missed that were involved that made this season special! To God Be the Glory! Go Lions!"

The Lions lose Joseph and C. Klatt to graduation this year, but will a return a young and experienced roster again next season under Coach Reddig as Lustre looks to keep making their history.