The Lennox High School boys’ basketball team ended their season this past Friday, Mar. 1 in a devastating 56-52 overtime loss to Vermillion in the Region 4A semifinal game.
The two teams battled the entire game with the score tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter. Lennox managed to pull away at half, taking a 27-20 lead into the locker room.
However, Lennox was outscored 10-3 early in the third quarter, allowing Vermillion to retake the lead, 33-30, with four minutes left in the third.
Lennox fought back to lead 37-38 at the start of the fourth with the game ended in a 46-46 tie, forcing overtime. The back and fourth battle ensued with the game tied at 49 all with 44 seconds left. However, vermillion managed a score to take the 51-49 and with 22 seconds left, the Tanagers hit two free throw to increase their lead to 53-49. With 11 seconds left in the game, a Tanager reached the foul line again and made one free throw giving Vermillion the 54-49 lead.
Porter Ihnen sank a long three pointer to pull the Orioles within in two, 54-52 but only five seconds remained. Lennox fouled Trey Hansen who hit both free throws sealing their 56-52 win, and ending the Orioles season.
“It was a tough loss for us as we had one of our worst shooting performances of the season,” said LHS head coach Chris Buckmiller. “Our defense kept us in it, but this year, we have had stretches where we can’t seem to buy a bucket. Unfortunately, we experienced that in a win or go home game.”
From the field, Lennon shot just over 31 percent. They went five off seven from the foul line and had 18 turnovers in the game.
Ihnen led the Orioles in scoring, finishing with 20 points in the game. He also grabbed six rebounds and had four assists. Tate Gerdes finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down ten rebounds. He also had three assists. Talan Diercks added eight points, grabbed five rebounds, and had one steal. Boston Katzer had seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Teegan Musser finished with six points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
This marked the last game for seniors Talan Diercks, Braxton Musser, Trey Gerdes, Porter Ihnen, Pierce Temme, Ethan Lundquist, Mitch VanMeeteren, and Will Hoppe.
“These moments are never easy because we know that we must say goodbye to a great group of seniors. I want to thank Porter, Braxton, Trey, Talan, Pierce, Ethan, Mitch, and Will for everything that they have done for our program,” said Buckmiller. “These guys are fantastic examples of what it means to be an Oriole and I know that the staff and younger players are going to miss being around them. We look forward to our returning players that we have coming back. It will be an exciting off-season with many roles to fill.”