Orioles Lead the Pack and Begin Run for State

Orioles Lead the Pack and Begin Run for State

7-0 was an oppurtunity the Lennox Orioles wanted to acheive in Region 4A play. This past Friday, the Lennox Orioles traveled to North Sioux City to play the Panthers of Dakota Valley. This game marked the oppurtunity for the Lennox to get an undefeated Region 4A record. The Orioles had to worry about a few different players on this team. Between Ryan Rosenquist and and Luke Schmitt, the Lennox Orioles would have their hands full.

If I told you that Jacob Hinker who has scored a total of 100 Points in the last 4 games (Dell Rapids, Beresford, Tea Area, and West Central) he would score only 13 points, you would assume that Lennox would most likely lose. However, the Orioles had some other players who found the stairway to winning and stepped up against the Panthers. To start the game, Ryan Rosenquist nailed a three pointer and opened the scoring. From there, Lennox's John Oldenkamp made a 5 foot bank shot as the shot clock was about to expire. The Orioles found a great defensive performance until Schmitt hit a three with 50 seconds left in the first. Then a play was set up for Lane Smit to shoot a three for the Orioles and his shot just fell out and went to a long rebound. The rebound was grabbed by Ryan Rosenquist at the Lennox three point line and he shot a full court shot and it was good. Lennox then trailed 13-12 after the first.

That brought the 2nd Quarter. The Lennox Orioles found a ryhthm defensively and took over the game. They only scored 12 which is a decent quarter but they gave up 8 which is an outstanding quarter defensively. The Orioles found a lot of success in this quarter as they used their Pacline principles to hold the Panthers to minimal scoring. In the third quarter, Lennox went on the offensive and scored 19 points. Lennox continued great defense as they held Dakota Valley to 11 points and Lennox extended their lead to 11. It was 43-32 and Lennox just needed to hold off any offensive streaks by Dakota Valley. Just to throw out there, Dakota Valley only scored 11 points in the fourth so in order for them to lose, Lennox would of had to score 0. However, Lennox scored 10 points and won 53-43.

Many points happened that showed promise and that was Nathan Timmerman stepping up and scoring 14 points to lead the Orioles. From there, Oldenkamp had 8, Weischedel had 7, Raabe had 7 and that is what can win a game. Having two leading scorers and a few guys that can throw 5, 6 or even 7 points can lead to a good game. Lennox showed their confidence as they never lost their swagger and owned the game quite well. That is something that has led the Orioles to this seasons success.

Coach McVey talked with me about how the Lennox Orioles performed and how he thought they did. I asked him what was the biggest aspect to Lennox beating Dakota Valley and his reply was sort of expected. "Against Dakota Valley I thought we showed tremendous poise when they made some 3-pointers and a half-court shot in the first half.  We guarded the outside shot much better as the game progressed.  Once again we played team basketball.  We dominated the glass, got the ball inside, and really worked together." I then asked him who stepped in big in this game and he said, "I thought every player stepped up and did their job well in this game.  Our bench was really focused and fired up and no matter who was on the court our level of played stayed consistently strong." Finally, I asked him how good it felt to go undefeated in the Region 4A. His reply was, "This team has earned the right to go undefeated in the Region.  They play the right way and play for the right reasons.  They play for each other and to make Lennox, Worthing, and Chancellor proud.  These Orioles are relentless on defense and have really done a great job of understanding shot selection on offense.  Going undefeated in the Region during the regular season gives us tremendous momentum and confidence going into post season play.  We are also proud of the fact that we finished 4th out of 12 teams in the Dakota XII Conference.  We are consistently improving and we are getting the most out of every individual to make this a truly tough team to beat."

The Orioles will play this Saturday at 7:00 in Lennox versus Dakota Valley or Elk Point Jefferson. The winner will play Lennox. To see a complete bracket of the Region 4A playoffs, go to the following website. http://www.sdhsaa.com/Athletics/BoysSports/Basketball/BracketsA.aspx The Orioles are looking forward to playing this Saturday and if you want to know their opinion on the game coming up and what the team is doing to prepare. Come on and read my next article which will be realeased on Friday, March 6th. It will tell about Lennox's attempt to make state and how they are going to do it.

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Written By:

Grant Sweeter

Senior Lennox High School

Manager for Lennox Basketball