Bainville Places Fourth At Eastern C Divisional Tournament
When the Lustre Lions and Bainville Bulldogs met in the consolation championship game of the Eastern C boys’ basketball tournament in Sidney on Friday, March 4, each program had reasons to be proud of this year’s accomplishments.
Lustre reached admirable heights in boys’ basketball this season including being regular-season district champions and being ranked in state polls. Wins have included an overtime classic against Bainville in the opening round of the tournament and three victories over Scobey.
By playing in the consolation title game, Bainville advanced further at the divisional tournament than the Bulldogs have in 40 years. The Bulldogs earned praise as a team that never gave up when falling behind in contests.
The game on Friday certainly wasn’t a letdown as the two squads battled it out until Lustre emerged with a 48-42 victory.
The Lions earned a 39-33 lead when Elijah Lenihan hit a three-pointer with 5:23 remaining in the contest. A drive by Jesse Strickland kept the Bulldogs close, but Kolden Hoversland scored to put the Lions up 41-35 with 2:59 left.
Lustre stayed in front, but Bainville kept fighting as its had all season and tournament long. A 17-footer by Braeden Romo closed the gap to 43-39 with 1:30 left. The Lions were able to increase the gap to 45-39 on a pair of free throws by Lenihan. A free throw by Kolden Hoversland put Lustre in control at 48-39 with only 34 seconds remaining.
Top scorers for the Lions were Kolden Hoversland with 16, Lenihan with 13 points and Braden Ewing with 10 points.
Rounding out the scoring were Cayden Klatt with five, Kaleb Hoversland with two and Jasiah Hambira with two points.
Leading Bainville were Charles Butikofer with 13 and Strickland with 12 points. Also scoring were Ayden Knudsen with six, Romo with five, Alex Strickland with four and Samuel Butikofer with two points.
Romo grabbed nine rebounds.
The first quarter ended in a dramatic fashion when Kolen Hoversland made a shot that traveled nearly the full court for a basket at the buzzer.
The Lions led 16-6 at the end of the opening quarter and by a 28-21 half-time margin.
A drive by Charles Butikofer and two free throws by A. Strickland closed the gap to 32-28 during the third quarter. After Ewing scored inside, A. Strickland put in a basket off a rebound to cut the margin to 34-30 at the end of the period.
