The Lakers’ season came to an end following a competitive 55-52 loss to Yellow Medicine East in the Section 3A Tournament play-in round on Feb. 26, and they concluded the season 9-17 overall.

“I thought our guys continued to work hard throughout the year. It was a kind of an up-and-down year. We showed some times where we can play with some really good teams, and we had some times where we weren’t at our sharpest,” Lakeview head coach Jared Keaveny said. “Either way, our kids continued to show up in practice and in games and gave their best efforts. So I’m really proud of the way the guys handled themselves.”

Lakeview showed a strong fight in the loss, ultimately coming back from a 17-point halftime deficit and coming within a point, 53-52, with 5.4 seconds remaining. But, the Sting finished the game off at the foul line, and the Lakers came up just short of the comeback.

Despite the tough loss, the Lakers learned valuable lessons, both on and off the court, through their team bond and chemistry.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Braylon Breyfogle goes up for a jumpshot against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Dec. 11 in Cottonwood.

“When things were down, we always seemed to rally together. There were times where we were not playing our best, but the guys put everything aside and figured out a way to come back in the game, or figure things out on the fly,” Keaveny said. “The guys really did a good job with that, sticking together and not getting down too much. Just finding a way to continue to fight together.”

Lakeview also racked up a handful of Camden Conference recognitions this season, along with still having a season filled with record-breaking moments.

Seniors Braylon Breyfogle, Cody Helmke and Ian Taylor were all named to the Camden South All-Conference team, while senior Trevor Tusberg also earned an honorable mention.

Breyfogle, Taylor and Tusberg were all core shooters for the Lakers this season, while Helmke helped to manage the paint and rebounding front at 6-foot-4.

There were also a handful of individual accomplishments reached throughout the year, adding to the memories made of the season.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Trevor Tusberg attacks the paint against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton on Dec. 11 in Cottonwood.

Breyfogle surpassed 1,000 career points this season on Dec. 20 at Renville County West. He entered the game 22 points shy of the milestone and scored exactly that.

Helmke and Breyfogle also grabbed their 500th career rebound, as did Taylor and Breyfogle with dishing out their 200th career assists.

Lakeview collectively broke the school record for most points scored in a game in a 94-56 win in the Lakers’ season opener against Red Rock Central on Dec. 1.

Helmke had an efficient year on both ends of the floor, tying the score record for most blocks in a game with seven as well as setting a new school record for career field-goal shooting, where he finished his varsity time between 2023-26 with a 54.6% shooting mark.

The previous shooting record was Jonah Dovre’s 51.7% in his 2011-15 career.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Ian Taylor brings the ball up the court in the Section 3A North play-in against Yellow Medicine East on Feb. 26 in Cottonwood.

Rounding out the individual highlights the Lakers saw this winter, Taylor also set a new school record for most single-season assists with 161, surpassing Derek Larsen’s 144 in the 2012-13 season.

Lakeview graduates a strong group of seniors in Taylor, Breyfogle, Tusberg, Landyn Listul, Kaiden Pringle, Helmke and Jackston Staab.

“They’re great players, but they’re better people, and I love them. We’re going to miss them,” Keaveny said of the seniors following the loss to YME. “They’ve improved every year. They’re great kids, they’re outstanding leaders. They’re going to do wonderful things in this world. It’s tough to lose them, because they left everything out there, and my heart goes out to them.”

With the large group of seniors exiting, the Lakers will still return a group of young experience that will look to continue making strides and moving forward.

“Our seniors were great leaders. They continued to just bring it every day, and I thought that really showed the underclassmen that this is what it takes to play at the varsity level, to succeed and continue to get better,” Keaveny said. “Our young guys continue to grow, mature and show some good things throughout the year, and we do have a good young core coming back, so we are excited to get to work with them in the offseason.”