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The Luverne boys’ basketball team had a busy week on the hardwood with a big conference victory and two losses, putting their season record at 4-4.
The Cardinals won a big game, 58-57, against conference rival Marshall at home Jan. 6 before dropping a game the next day, 52-48, to Montevideo and falling to the Trojans, 65-54, Monday in Worthington.
The Cardinals will travel to St. James Friday, Jan. 13, to Estelline, South Dakota, Saturday, Jan.14, and to Jackson on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Luverne 58, Marshall 57
Luverne basketball fans were treated to an exciting game Friday night in the Cardinal Gym when the LHS boys edged a tough Tigers team by one point.
“That was one of the most fun games in recent history for us. We haven’t beaten Marshall since 2012, so it was fun to finally beat them,” head coach John Sichmeller said.
“The kids played their best defensive game of the year and executed our game plan perfectly.”
Both Luverne and Marshall played physical ball with several lead changes in the fast-paced game.
The Cardinals found themselves down 27-24 at halftime but didn’t relent in the second half when they kept the score close.
Marshall fell behind and committed several fouls in the last few minutes of the game, giving Luverne a chance to step to the foul line for the 58-57 win.
To cap off the night, senior Gannon Ahrendt broke Luverne’s career all-time scoring record with attitude, dunking the ball over Marshall senior Andrew Elton.
Ahrendt passed Brett Heronimus, who had the record since 2013 with 1248 points.
Ahrendt ended the night with 30 points, eight rebounds and one assist.
Junior Carter Sehr helped out with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Junior Gavin DeBeer played a solid game inside netting 10 points, grabbing three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Also contributing to the win for the Cardinals were seniors Riley Sneller and Tyson Cowell with two points apiece and Marcus Feit with one point.
Montevideo 52, LHS 48
Coming off the big win against Marshall Friday night, Luverne suffered a heartbreaking 52-48 loss to the Thunderhawks at Montevideo Saturday, Jan. 7.
“The game was close the entire time and could have gone either way,” Sichmeller said.
“We got down five or six points and fought back to tie the game at 48. We couldn’t quite come up with the big play at the end to put us over the top.”
Gannon Ahrendt led the Cardinals with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocked shots.
Sehr also posted 16 points, grabbed three rebounds, made three assists and one steal.
DeBeer made five points, muscled 11 rebounds and one assist.
Sneller added four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Cowell also had four points plus three rebounds and two assists.
Worthington 65, LHS 54
The Luverne boys’ basketball team dropped a 65-54 game to the Trojans at Worthington Monday, Jan. 9.
The Cardinals, having already played two tough teams in the past five days, fell a bit flat, getting outrebounded and outhustled in the paint.
Sehr came up big for the Cardinals, scoring 25 points and nabbing two rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Ahrendt had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
DeBeer contributed 10 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Other Cardinals scoring against the Trojans were Marcus Feit with three points and Trevor DeBates sinking two points.