MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Nov. 24–31)
BOYS BASKETBALL: Lancaster 77, Barneveld 72

By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent

Flying Arrows open with a win over reigning Six Rivers East champion Golden Eagles
LANCASTER — With a talented group of seniors returning for ninth-year head coach Brian Knapp, this year’s Lancaster boys’ basketball team has high expectations and even higher goals.

The Flying Arrows got the 2025-26 season started out in the right direction last Tuesday night with a 77-72 non-conference victory over visiting Barneveld, who gave the Arrows all they could handle in the first half.

With the help of hot shooting and numerous defensive stops, the Eagles held their largest lead of 16 over the Arrows midway through the first half before taking a 37-26 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Coach Knapp’s squad came out in the second half with renewed energy, creating turnovers with their full court pressure defense and generating confidence on the offensive end of the court.

Once the Arrows took the lead late in the second half, they never let it go on their way to collecting a five-point victory over the Eagles.

Defensively, the Arrows finished the contest with 10 steals and 27 deflections, turning 16 Barneveld turnovers into 10 points.

Though they were outscored 46-40 in the paint, the Arrows scored 25 points in transition, compared to just six for the Eagles, who out-rebounded Lancaster 37-34.

Senior guard Dayne Kauffman led Lancaster with 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and 10-of-17 from the free throw line. He also went 2-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Fellow senior Taylor Williams concluded the contest with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the line, while Zach Hermsen added 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from the line.

Hermsen led Lancaster on the glass with nine boards, while senior Brady Schmitz distributed a team-high four assists. Senior Brody Crubel led the team with three steals.

As a team the Arrows made 26-of-54 (48%) total shot attempts, including 5-of-17 (29%) from downtown. They were 20-of-35 (57%) from the free throw line, compared to 8-of-11 (73%) for Barneveld.

The Lancaster boys (3–0) continued their hot start with non-conference wins at East Dubuque (Tuesday) and Belleville (Thursday) this week and will next host Mineral Point Tuesday, Dec. 9.