One fan section filled with students shouting in blue and white. Another section filled with the Hopkins Royals prep band, complete with a mascot and cheerleaders. At first glance it seemed as if the Eden Prairie gym was filled with only Royals supporters. However, spread out throughout the gym, a few South parents, fans, alum, and staff members cheered on the South High Tigers in the boys basketball semi-finals game.

The boys basketball team lost to the Hopkins Royals in the sections semi-finals game on Saturday, February 28. While the final score was 105-75, the game felt close.

During the first half, the Tigers and the Royals rotated leading the game. They remained tied until the last 5 minutes of the first half when the Royals took the lead. From that point forward, the Royals continued to increase their lead.

“The first half we were in the game and the second half, we got blown out, ” remembered junior and varsity basketball player, Elerson Smith. He continued,”We lost focus and they had a lot more talent on their team than we do.”

However, the Tigers did not give up. Even in the last 5 minutes of the game, when the Royals were leading by about 30 points, the Tigers continued to take shots and fight for more points.

The Royals will move on to play in the sections finals against Eden Prairie on March 4. Whereas, this loss ended the Tigers 2014-2015 season. Elerson reflected on the season: “I feel like we didn’t do as well as we could’ve [this season]. But, we didn’t do terrible.”