Both the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots and Lady Patriots traveled to Luverne to compete in the Class 2A, Area 3 Championship on Monday. 

The Patriots lost 52-46 to the Luverne Tigers in the boys championship in a back-and-forth slugfest. After Pike took a slim 10-7 lead into the second quarter, the two sides started trading blows. Luverne tied the score 12-12 with 5:23 left in the first half and then Pike’s Chase DeBoer buried a three-pointer with 4:18 left to give the Patriots a 15-12 lead. Luverne then went on a 6-0 run to go up 18-15 with 3:13 left in the half. 

Braden Shirley for Pike Lib tied the score with a long three with 2:03 left in the half but Luverne answered right back with a three-pointer of its own to retake the lead 21-18 with 1:44 left. Pike’s Jackson Mitchell earned a steal and layup to cut the lead to 21-20 with just five seconds left in the half. Luverne would take that lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Luverne began to take control early in the third quarter, leading by as many as nine points, until Pike began to claw its way back into the game. A three-pointer narrowed the score to 35-33 late in the third and the Tigers would hang on to that lead heading into the final frame. 

Pike Lib opened the fourth quarter with a Sawyer Keck three-pointer to retake the lead for the Patriots 36-35. The two sides traded blows again and with Pike hanging on to a 38-37 lead, the Tigers stole the ball and earned a layup to put LHS up 39-38 with 4:17 left. Luverne then knocked down back-to-back threes to go up 44-38 with 3:22 left. Pike began to rally once again when Dawson Bradford hit a layup with 3:00 left to cut the lead to 44-40 and then Jackson Bowen drilled a three to cut the lead to 44-43 with 2:40 left. 

A Luverne layup extended the lead to 46-43 with 2:03 left and after Pike was unable to knock down a pair of three attempts, the Patriots had to start fouling to conserve time. The Tigers hit six free throws in the final minute to conserve the 52-46 win. 

Pike was led in defeat by DeBoer with 13 points, while Sawyer Keck earned nine points. Luverne was led by Omar Crumbley with 17 points, while Jadin Harris scored 12 points for the Tigers. The Patriots will be on the road Saturday in the sub-regional round of the Class 2A State Tournament. 

The Patriots beat the Goshen Eagles by a score of 51-48 in the Area Semifinals on Friday to reach the finals. Pike Lib trailed 13-10 to Goshen in the first quarter but the Patriots were able to take a 24-20 lead into halftime. Pike led 38-34 going into the final period. Goshen outscored Pike 14-13 in the fourth but couldn’t draw any closer.

Keck led the Patriots with 30 points as he surpassed 1,000 career points. Goshen was led by Ahmad Rogers with 15 points and seven rebounds. Makayel McBride added 14 points for six blocks for the Eagles.

The Pike Lib Lady Patriots also lost to Luverne in the Area 3 Girls Championship on Monday by a score of 65-32. While the Lady Pats were plagued by turnovers in the first quarter they were still able to keep the game close early, trailing 16-11 going into the second quarter. Luverne then went on a 9-0 run to open the second quarter and outscored the Lady Patriots 13-1 to take a 29-12 lead at halftime. 

Luverne was on fire again in the third quarter and outscored PLAS 22-12 and also outscored Pike 14-8 in the final period. Mary Holland Stephens led PLAS with nine points in the loss, while Shelly Stephens added seven. Jameria Green led the winning Lady Tigers with 27 points. 

The Lady Patriots also beat Zion Chapel 38-30 in the Area 3 Girls Semifinals on Friday to reach the finals. Mary Holland Stephens tallied 17 points for Pike, while Shelly Stephens scored 14. Shea Wambles led Zion Chapel with 12 points.