Luverne boys nearly upset Fairmont

It was a tale of two halves for the Luverne Cardinal boys’ basketball team during the opening round of the Section 3AA-South tournament. 
The No. 6-seeded Luverne team traveled to No. 3-seeded Fairmont Saturday afternoon. 
After falling behind 28-16 in the first half, LHS more than doubled its offensive output in the second half, outpacing Fairmont 33-23. 
It wasn’t quite enough, however, as the Luverne Cardinals fell by two to the Fairmont Cardinals, 51-49. 
“I was really proud of how we battled back after getting down,” said LHS head coach John Sichmeller. “We didn't play bad to start. We just missed a bunch of shots that we normally make.”
After halftime, Luverne was down by as much as 34-18 five minutes into the second half before LHS went on a 16-0 scoring run to tie the game 34-34.
“The kids stuck with it and didn't get down on themselves and made a great game of it,” Sichmelller said. 
The two Cardinal teams traded baskets and the lead for the remainder of the game. 
With eight seconds left, Fairmont led 50-49 and Luverne had the ball. An offensive foul by Luverne gave the ball back to Fairmont. 
LHS had to foul four times in order to get Fairmont to the free throw line. 
After the FHS player made one of two free throws, the Cardinals threw up a last-second, full-court shot that missed, and Fairmont won the game 51-49. 
Gannon Ahrendt was the leading scorer in the game with 33 points, including four three-pointers. Eli Radtke added seven points for Luverne. 
The Cardinals ended their season with a 10-14 record. 
Saturday’s game was the final game for nine LHS seniors. 
“They were a fun group of kids to coach, and it was fun to see how they improved throughout the year,” Sichmeller said. 
“We didn't start the year off too hot, but we played some good basketball at the end.” 
 
Box Score:
Cole-Kraty 1 0 0-0 2, Schoeneman 0 1 0-0 3, Sehr 0 0 0-0 0, Radtke 3 0 1-4 7, DeBeer 0 0 0-0 0, Ahrendt 9 4 3-3 33, Overgaard 1 0 2-2 4 
 
Team Stats:
Luverne: 19 of 53 (36 percent), 6 of 9 free throws (67 percent), 29 rebounds, 11 turnovers 
Fairmont: 20 of 46 (43 percent), 7 of 11 free throws (64 percent), 33 rebounds, 15 turnovers