With the clock winding down on both the state quarterfinal and the Royals’ season, the small Lakeville North student section chanted “Just like last year.”

When the final buzzer sounded on the Royals’ 61-65 loss, it was indeed just like last year. The same feeling of a year-long mission left unfinished had the HHS faithful asking, “What just happened?”

Although the magnitude of last year’s championship game and this year’s quarterfinal matchup was different, the outcome still left Royals players with tears in their eyes.

The Royals’ loss makes the 2015 graduating class the first class since 2001 to go without a state championship in their three years at HHS.

“It’s sports, this is a game. We knew it would have been a close game. It didn’t surprise me a bit. We had one starter back from last year’s team and they had three starters back from a state championship team. That’s not dog meat,” said Ken Novak Jr., head coach.

After a slow start for both teams, the Royals tried to pull ahead on three consecutive fast break opportunities but were unable to convert on all three.

“We were having trouble catching the ball,” Novak said. “We were zigging when we should have been zagging, we were just a little out of sorts. We didn’t deserve it.”

There are many different plays that affect the outcome of a game. The most important missed opportunities for the Royals were free throws.

“If I had to say one thing, we were seven for 17 on free throws. This might be the best free throw shooting team I’ve ever had – we shot 79% [this season]. We had an opportunity to win, and you just have to make an easy play once in a while,” Novak said.

Last year’s edition of Lakeville North relied heavily on the shooting of then-senior JP Macura. With him gone, Connor Flack, senior, leads the Panthers in scoring. Flack did not play in this game due to a back injury.

“They have seven or eight guys averaging between eight and 12 points. They shoot the ball really well. They are much bigger than we are, and much stronger. We weren’t tight, we weren’t sharp,” Novak said.

Throughout the season, the Royals were notorious for coming back from large deficits, including a seven-point comeback with two minutes left in the section final against Eden Prairie. Tonight, despite a 14-point comeback in the second half, their end-of-game magic finally ran its course.

“The first game of the tournament is always the toughest. We got too far down, and [then] you’re leaving it to fate,” Novak said.

Ishmael El-Amin, sophomore, was a bright spot for the Royals throughout sections and state. He averaged 18 points per game during the section tournament and kept the Royals within striking distance for much of today’s game, scoring a team-high 17 points and shooting 47% from the field.

John Warren, senior, seemed off from the opening tip. The usually calm Warren was given a technical foul after a missed chance on the fast break and had three fouls in the first half.

“I think things started to go wrong and we had trouble getting in rhythm. If you start out of rhythm, it’s really hard to get yourself back in rhythm. You have to be really mentally strong,” Novak said.

Looking forward to next year, the team loses first team All-Metro selection John Warren and starting big man Graham Hutson, seniors. However, the Royals will retain a slew of juniors, including potential Mr. Basketball candidate Amir Coffey and returning starters Vinnie Shahid and Xavier Johnson. Simon Wright, sophomore, a starter for much of the season, returns as well.

The Royals, who almost did not make it to state this year, appear to have been entered into an easier section for next season and should make it back to a third consecutive state tournament.