Kyrese Lukens (12) is a name you hear in Herrin athletics consistently. Lukens, a four-year starter for the Herrin varsity basketball team, has become the All-Time Leading Scorer for the boys’ basketball program. Kyrese achieved this feat when he scored his 1,708th point in the Tigers’ game against Mascoutah on Feb. 15. Following the game, Kyrese now sits at 1,712 points. Lukens broke the record previously held by Gene Turni, who scored 1,707 points, the record set in 1960.
Turni graduated in 1960, but during his time spent at HHS he experienced and accomplished great things within the boys’ basketball program. During Turni’s freshman year, in 1957, the varsity team went 31-2, won the South Seven Conference Championship and broke the point record for most points scored in a game with 100 points. Notably in 1957, the Varsity Tigers were state champions for the very first time after defeating Collinsville by a score of 45-42.
During Turni’s Sophomore season, the Tigers returned to the state series and finished in the elite eight.
Junior year for Gene brought many more accomplishments on a team and personal level. The team broke the record for most points in a game after scoring 102 points against Crab Orchard in the regional. They also went on to claim the South Seven championship title again, as well as having a 25-game winning streak. Turni individually set the scoring mark for most points in a game with 39 points following a game at Mt. Vernon. He was named Second All-Tournament Team and named to the Herald-All American Southern Illinois Team his junior year.
In Gene’s Senior season at HHS, he was named a member of the Centralia Holiday All-Tournament Team, a member of the All-State teams by Chicago American and Chicago Daily News. Turni was also voted Most Valuable Basketball Player in the year 1960 as well as being selected the number two player in the state. He also played in the high school All American game in Houston Texas his senior year.
(Photography, Emmarie Bires)
Last year, during the Benton Invitational Tournament Lukens scored his 1000th point in the Tigers game against Pinckneyville. You can read more about that accomplishment here: https://thetigertattler.com/6839/features/kyrese-lukens-1000-point-club/
Lukens said this about his major accomplishment of becoming All-Time Leading Scorer, “It means a lot being able to accomplish something that’s been around for so long. It feels like pressure has been lifted after getting the record, but my main goal for this season is to win a regional championship and be able to play in a sectional.”
Lukens shines on the court and has quite the list of achievements to show it. He earned All-Conference his freshman, sophomore and junior years as well as All South his Sophomore and Junior year alongside MVP in the DuQuoin Tip-Off Tournament his junior year. Alongside this, Lukens was MVP two years in a row (Junior and Senior year) of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament while also making the Tournament Team of the West Frankfort Mid-Winter Tournament and the Eldorado Holiday Tournament his sophomore year. But his accomplishments don’t end there, as Lukens made the Tournament Team of the Benton Invitational Tournament his junior and senior year and All-Tournament Team of the DuQuoin Tip-Off his senior year as well as earning All-State Honorable Mention his junior year.
Lukens has also proven himself an expert player in other fields. Kyrese, a multi-sport athlete participating in football and track as well being a part of an AAU basketball team, keeps himself in a sport throughout the entire year. Lukens made his own impact on the Herrin football and track teams as well. Kyrese earned All-Conference and All South for three years of his football career. He is a two-time state champion in the 4×200 relay and a state champion in the 4×100 relay.
Lukens also claimed the title of third in the state his sophomore year for the hundred-meter dash. Kyrese’s basketball coach, Sayler Shurtz said, “It’s been great coaching Ky these last four years. He is proof that putting in time before and after practice will pay off, he was given a lot of God-given abilities and is very talented, but none of that means a thing if you don’t work hard like he does.” Kyrese still has two guaranteed games of his senior season throughout which he can continue to add onto his scoring record. The last regular season game and final conference matchup for the Varsity Tigers will be against the Harrisburg Bulldogs and will take place this Friday, Feb. 21, in the Memorial Gymnasium. Herrin will then head into the first round of regionals in Effingham next Wednesday, Feb. 26, against Mattoon.
