The Raider Boys Basketball team’s season came to a crushing end at the hands of the Eagan Wildcats in a heartbreaking 70-69 loss Mar. 7 after a first-round victory over Eastview on Mar. 4, 66-60. The Raiders had not won a section game for nearly a decade prior to the victory over Eastview.
Versus Eastview
The Raiders earned the third seed of the section tournament which made them the host for the first round of the Section 3AAAA tournament against Eastview. The Raiders faced the Lightning in the section tournament in 2023 where they fell 103-40, a loss that was still on the minds of many Raiders.
Hastings scored to kick things off and eventually led by seven before Eastview scored. The Raiders extended their lead to 20-7 and ultimately 29-16 before the Lightning managed to narrow the game to five points before the intermission 29-24.
The second half started out similar to the first with Hastings extending their lead largely due to several missed shots by the Lightning. Eastview fought back to within three points before Hastings fired back to lead 47-36. Eastview rallied to tie the game at 47 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. Less than a minute later the Lightning had their second lead of the game.
The two traded baskets and leads until Eastview jumped out to a 56-50 lead. Hastings quickly tied the game thanks to the long-range shooting of Brady Hendrickson and the Raiders swarming defense. With 35 seconds left, Hastings was back on top 63-58. Eastview scored two more points, and the Raiders scored the final three to win 66-60.
Five Raiders scored double digit points. Hendrickson led with 16, Matthew Foss had 15, Marlowe Strain had 12 and both Weston Schult and Lukas Foss had 10.
At Eagan
With the win, Hastings advanced to the semifinal round against the two seed Eagan. The Wildcats jumped out to a sizeable lead and held on despite the adjustments made by the Raiders. Hastings slowly worked back to close the gap and trailed 39-33 at the half.
The Raider coaching staff did a great job making adjustments at the intermission which led to Hastings closing the gap in the second half. The last few minutes of the game were filled with excitement for both sides of the capacity crowd. Several lead changes created outbursts of cheers from both sets of fans, but none louder than the Raiders side. The student section was in full force, and they were letting everyone know they were there to support their Raiders.
With 15 seconds left, Hastings trailed by one and they had possession. With every inbound pass, the Wildcats fouled Hastings, shaving precious time off the clock. This went on for three inbound passes before Hastings was able to make a play.
With just over five seconds left on the clock, a chaotic sequence took place with Hastings doing all they could to avoid being fouled by Eagan. Hendrickson ended up with the ball in his hands for the buzzer beater and he let the shot fly. The ball bounced around and rimmed out causing a fight for the ball under the net, a fight that Hastings lost. With Eagan grabbing the rebound, the Raider’s season ended.
The team finished 20-8 overall and 11-5 in the conference. Matthew Foss led the team with 395 points. Weston Schult had 324, Lukas Foss 318, Marlowe Strain 290 and Brady Hendrickson 220.
Strain led with 163 rebounds, Lukas Foss had 115, Matthew Foss 102, Kyan Esterby 98 and Schult 96.
Hastings graduates four from the varsity roster, Kyan Esterby, Weston Schult, Jacob Reuter and Lukas Foss.