Lakeville North overcame a four-point deficit in the final 36 seconds to shock Hopkins in the Class 4A championship. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
Lakeville North 84, Hopkins 82
Trailing top-seeded Hopkins (30-2) by four with 36 seconds remaining, Lakeville North (27-5) created an unusual five-point possession to take the lead and shock the favored Royals in the Class 4A state championship game at Target Center.
The Royals led 82-78 when North found Drew Stewart alone in the left corner for a three-pointer. He was fouled in the process of shooting, but missed the free throw. Connor Flack tipped up the offensive board, missed, but followed it up for a 83-82 lead with 18 seconds left. After a Hopkins' turnover, Stewart hit one of two free throws for the final margin.
Hopkins' last-second three-pointer fell away and the Panthers stormed the court in ecstasy.
The last-minute heroics was unusual in that it didn't involve Xavier-bound J.P. Macura. The senior poured in 43 points from nearly everywhere on the court, hitting 15-of-30 from the field (5-of-13 from three). His leadership and swagger had the North fans and players believing they could knock off Hopkins.
Kamali Chambers paced the Royals with 24 points, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range. Noble Fahnbulleh added 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Jake Wright had 15 points.
Name | Pos | School |
---|---|---|
Joe Rosga | G | Cretin-DH |
Donnell Gresham | G | Cretin-DH |
Tyler Weiss | G | Shakopee |
Steffon Mitchell | F | Shakopee |
JP Macura | G | Lakeville North |
Connor Flack | F | Lakeville North |
Bronson Bruneau | F | Lakeville North |
Jake Wright | G | Hopkins |
Kamali Chambers | G | Hopkins |
Amir Coffey | F | Hopkins |
Hopkins' Amir Coffey launches the game-winning, half-court trey to send the Royals to the Class 4A state championship. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
As senior Reid Travis signals, DeLaSalle claimed its third straight Class 3A state championship. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
DeLaSalle 60, Austin 40
The Islanders (26-3) claimed their third consecutive Class 3A championship at the Target Center, the second in a row with a victory over Austin (28-4). DeLaSalle's defense stymied Austin, holding the Packers to just 30.4 percent shooting (14-of-46) from the field and allowing 20 points in each half.
After a back-and-forth opening few minutes that resulted in a 14-14 score with 12:19 remaining in the first half, DeLaSalle went on a 17-3 run to put the game out of reach. Freshman Goanar Mar scored all seven of his points in the outburst, including a step back three to make it 31-17.
Senior Reid Travis, bound for Stanford, finished his Islanders' career with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds. But it was a balanced effort across the board for coach Dave Thorson's squad. Sacar Anim added 13 points and James Lawson scored nine points with 11 rebounds. Mar and Joshua Collins each had seven points.
Ajuda Nywesh was the bright spot for the Packers' offense, scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The rest of the Austin team hit just 6-of-31 from the field.
Name | Pos | School |
---|---|---|
Cole Hennings | G | Orono |
Justin Dahl | C | Holy Family Catholic |
Brent Hentges | G | Holy Family Catholic |
Zach Wessels | G | Austin |
Ajuda Nywesh | C | Austin |
Bret Lukes | G | Austin |
Sacar Anim | F | DeLaSalle |
Reid Travis | F | DeLaSalle |
Geno Crandall | G | DeLaSalle |
Jarvis Johnson | G | DeLaSalle |
DeLaSalle's Jarvis Johnson skies for a dunk in the Islanders' Class 3A quarterfinal victory over St. Paul Central. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
Esko celebrates its Class 2A state championship. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
Esko 60, Annandale 41
Second-seeded Esko (29-3) stretched out a four-point halftime lead with an offensive explosion after intermission, subduing Annandale (25-7) in the Class 2A final at Target Center. The Eskomos scored 38 points after the break, with its big guns of Marc Peterson (16 points), Kory Deadrick (14) and Casey Staniger (13) combining for 43 points.
Esko shot a blistering 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field in the second half and also 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Annandale was at 36.6 percent (15-of-41) for the game.
Senior Matt Miller led the Cardinals with 10 points, while Andrew Fort had eight points and five rebounds.
Name | Pos | School |
---|---|---|
Mitch Pfingsten | G | Fairmont |
Josh Eversman | F | Fairmont |
Austin Bauer | G | Caledonia |
Kyle Sorenson | G | Caledonia |
Chase Knickerbocker | F | Annandale |
Matt Miller | F | Annandale |
Andrew Fort | F | Annandale |
Casey Staniger | F | Esko |
Kory Deadrick | F | Esko |
Marc Peterson | G | Esko |
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa celebrates its Class 1A state championship. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen.
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 52, Rushford-Peterson 40
The top-seeded Jaguars (31-1) earned their second state championship in three years, beating Rushford-Peterson (31-2) Saturday afternoon in the Class 1A championship game at Target Center. B-B-E trailed 25-21 at the half, but doubled up the Trojans in the second half (31-15).
Senior point guard Brian Goodwin led the way for B-B-E with 24 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. He helped break the R-P pressure defense, carrying the ball up court, but also hit his free throws down the stretch. Goodwin and teammate Billy Borgerding combined for all nine points (seven from the free throw line) during a 9-0 run with 5:32 remaining that broke a 39-all tie.
Borgerding finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while senior forward James Kuefler had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Jaguars outrebounced R-P by a wide 42-20 margin in the game.
Alex Vix paced the Trojans with 12 points, while Cole Kinglsey added 11 points.
Name | Pos | School |
---|---|---|
Davonte Williamson | F | Fond du Lac Ojibwe |
Trevontae Brown | G | Fond du Lac Ojibwe |
Jeremiah Hanson | F | Maranatha Christian |
Josh Goldschmidt | G | Maranatha Christian |
Brian Goodwin | G | B-B-E |
Billy Borgerding | F | B-B-E |
James Kuefler | F | B-B-E |
Cole Kingsley | G | Rushford-Peterson |
Austin O'Hare | F | Rushford-Peterson |
Alex Vix | G | Rushford-Peterson |