Lane Tietz is motivated when it comes to playing his best, and he is currently playing better than ever.

The Groton senior broke the school’s all-time single game scoring record with 47 points in a victory on Friday night. The old record was 41 points set by Aaron Feser in 1991. Tietz, who made 9 of 15 three-point field goals, also had five assists and 10 steals in that contest.

That comes on the heels of a 26-point point effort last Tuesday in a game where Tietz didn’t score in the second half with Groton owning a commanding lead.

His exploits are the result of hours and hours spent perfecting his craft.

While Tietz has participated in football and track in high school, he has spent most of his time on a basketball court year-round, including in the summer playing with Sacred Hoops and SD Identity organizations. He enjoys the commitment of playing with his teammates and building relationships throughout the year.

“I really, really enjoy the team camaraderie, like just being with your friend’s playing basketball,” Tietz said. “You get to meet a lot of new people in the summer and you build different relationships, but obviously, in the winter you’re with your best friends in high school.”

Although he enjoys playing basketball year-round, there are times where Tietz says he needs to take a break and balance out his life.

“There’s times when you’re like, I need a short break, but after about a day or two of giving yourself a rest, there really isn’t a burnout or anything,” Tietz said. “I’ve done it for four years now, playing year-round, so it’s just built into my system, and once you get on a schedule, you just keep going with it.”

Tietz also makes it a habit to work out during the spring and fall to improve his basketball skills as well. When on the court, he has been told by his coaches that he is a player that has a no-quit attitude, which is something he struggled with early in his career.

“They describe me as more of like a guy who is going to play harder than anyone else,” Tietz said. “From a young age, there was a couple of times where I didn’t play my hardest and I didn’t play my best, and that led to me always wanting to play the hardest on the floor no matter what.”

While he says he enjoys scoring, Tietz says he also enjoys competing in other aspects of the game, such as diving for loose balls, guarding the opponent’s best player, outhustling the opponent, and providing energy for his team.

During his high school career, Tietz has had to learn how to be a team leader, and as a freshman, the desire to lead was there, but the experience had not yet taken shape.

“Freshman season I really wanted to be the leader, but I didn’t really always know the right words,” Tietz said. “Obviously there is an intimidation factor as a freshman talking to juniors and seniors, telling them what to do.”

But with time and mentorship, Tietz has grown into his role as the Tigers’ leader when the team is on the court.

“You get to a point where you learn how people react to things,” Tietz said. “Coach (Brian) Dolen has taught me a lot about how different people are going to react to different leadership tactics in different ways.”

Two seasons ago during his sophomore season, Tietz and the Tigers found themselves in the Class A state basketball tournament for the first time since 2001. Although Groton completed the tournament with a seventh-place finish, Tietz said the experience of being in the tournament is something he will never forget.

“Playing in the state tournament was definitely the best basketball experience I’ve ever had,” Tietz said. “I remember walking into The Monument in Rapid City for the first time, we had just gotten off the bus ready for our practice, and I just was stargazing when I walked in at how big it was. Just kind of shocked that I get to play in it with all the other best teams in the state.”

Last season, the Tigers fell short of a repeat trip to the state tournament, losing to Sioux Valley 73-56 in the SoDak 16. While Tietz mourned for a while, it gave him and his teammates motivation to get back to the state tournament this season.

“It frustrated me, it made me sad, and really regretted not trying to do more to get there. This year that’s all I think about,” Tietz said. “Not making it last year, guys really took it personal, and we had a really great summer. Our sophomores played really well. They’ve been putting in a lot of time in the gym.”

While Tietz and the Tigers are currently working towards achieving their goal of playing in another state tournament, the senior is also looking ahead to his life after his high school days are over. Tietz recently committed to play basketball at Dakota State University where he will study in the business program.

But for now, Tietz is focused on the main goal at hand.

“I have my personal goals, I know everyone on my team has personal goals,” he said, “but ultimately making the state tournament again this year is top priority.”