With seconds left on the clock in overtime, senior Josh Pitney drove into the paint and took a shot, with Lafayette’s season on the line, tying up the State quarterfinals, 55-55 against SLUH and forcing double overtime. In double OT, the Lancer’s prevailed, winning 70-64, ending a 21 drought.
Expectations of postseason success were low for Lafayette, which finished the regular season with a 13-13 record. But, under first-year coach Don Kreienkamp, the Lancers managed to beat these expectations, earning a 4th-place finish in the MSHSAA Class 6 State tournament. This was their best finish since placing 3rd in 2001.
The team went 3-0 in the District tournament, beating first-seed Marquette in the final, 76-65, to be crowned District champions for the first time since 2017 and move on to the State tournament.
The matchup between the Lancers and the Billikens was a close contest, with neither team gaining much of a lead.
Fast breaks and dominating the paint proved successful for the Lafayette side, forcing SLUH outside to the three-point line. The Lancer’s offensive game was on point, with multiple players contributing to the win.
Junior guard Brady Micek played the whole game, including both overtime periods, which contributed to the team’s success. Micek ended the game with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
“He’s really taken a leadership step,” coach Donald Kreienkamp said.
Lafayette defeated the Billikens, 70-64, after surviving two grueling overtime periods.
After grabbing the upset win over the Billikens in the State quarterfinals, Lafayette entered the State semifinals for the first time since 2001 to face off against Chaminade at MIZZOU arena, March 19.
The Lancers took a quick 7-3 lead to start the game, but the Red Devils quickly caught up as the first quarter ended with Chaminde leading 20-18.
Building on their momentum, the Red Devils locked Lafayette up offensively only allowing them to score 2 points in the second quarter, as the first half ended 38-20, Chaminade.
Throughout the match, Chaminade’s size advantage over Lafayette helped them contain the Lancers offense.
“Size hasn’t been an advantage for us all year, it’s what we go through everyday. Our JV team is basically taller than us,” Micek said.
Size also posed a problem for Lafayette defensively as they struggled to break Chaminade’s rhythm on offense.
“I’ve played with guys that are 6 ’10, huge. You have to get them before they get to the paint,” junior Drew Pickering said.
The Lafayette offense was further hindered when junior Nolan Savoie was forced to leave the game due to injury at half. Savoie was a big part of the Lancer’s attack in the SLUH game, as he scored 21 points and had 5 assists, both season highs.
After losing Savoie, and already being undermanned, the Lancers failed to mount a comeback against the Red Devils, despite Pickering scoring 13 points. Lafayette lost the game, 72-42.
“Ultimately we’ve had a lot of success moving the ball and playing with all five guys and I felt like they did a really good job of taking us out of that rhythm, ” Kreienkamp said.
Following the loss, Lafayette played Nixa the day, March 20, at MIZZOU Arena, where they lost a low scoring game 56-33 to finish 4th.
Despite the coaching change, the Lancers saw a major improvement from last season. In the 2023-2024 season, the Lancers finished with a 11-17 record, and lost to Eureka in the District semifinals.
