Wayzata edges Lakeville North

March 23, 2017 at 2:03AM
Ethan Igbanugo right of Lakeville North stole the ball from Jacob Beeninga of Wayzata during quarterfinal class 4A basketball action at Target Center Wednesday March 22 2017 in Minneapolis, MN.] Wayzata beat Lakeville North 69-66. JERRY HOLT ï jerry.holt@startribune.com
Ethan Igbanugo of Lakeville North tried to steal the ball from Jacob Beeninga of Wayzata. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

There are no compression sleeves, under-jersey T-shirts or funky socks. The look for Wayzata is decidedly old-school, right down to their loose tank-top jerseys. It's more Hoosiers than hip-hop.

"It's funny. We talked about Indiana and 'Hoosiers' coming over," Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler said. "Although I don't think any of them are old enough to know what 'Hoosiers' is.

Wayzata plays basketball with a classic team-first style and so far, it's been highly effective. The latest victim was Lakeville North, which surrendered a nine-point second-half lead to the relentless Trojans in a 69-66 Wayzata victory.

"When we put five players out there, we know every single player out there can score and we believe in every one of them," sophomore guard Jacob Beeninga said.

"We work on cutting and moving without the ball and it really helps. We're really hard to guard."

The Trojans (27-3) played in their first state tournament since 1959 and their unfamiliarity with their surroundings showed in the first half as they fell behind 34-27. They quickly erased that deficit after halftime, starting the second half with a 14-2 run.

It started a series of runs that always seemed to turn in Wayzata's favor.

Lakeville North came back and took a 55-46 lead. Wayzata, unfazed, rallied to take the lead. Lakeville North (27-3) got a potentially game-changing four-point play — a three-pointer and a free throw — to take a 66-65 lead with 23 seconds left.

Wayzata rallied again, going ahead for good, 67-66, on two free throws by Gavin Baumgartner 10 seconds later.

"We have this thing: Refuse to lose," said Baumgartner, who scored 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career. "We felt confident. We just had to keep pulling through it, go get that win."

JIM PAULSEN

about the writer

about the writer

More from Sports

card image

Righthander Bailey Ober dominated and the Twins picked up 17 hits in a victory Monday night at Cleveland. The Twins have won four straight.

card image