Wayzata dominates rival Hopkins for sixth consecutive boys basketball section championship
The Trojans are one step closer to defending their Class 4A state title after Christian Wiggins scored 30 points to lead them to a 105-70 victory over Hopkins in the Class 4A, Section 6 final.
By Marcus Fuller and Joel Rippel
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Wayzata students lined up to enter the gym 90 minutes before tipoff for what felt like the biggest boys basketball game of the season Friday, March 13.
The rivalry between Wayzata and Hopkins had attracted sellouts crowds before, but the vibe felt different this time.
The pressure was on the Royals to put the brakes on a dynasty — Wayzata winning three titles in five consecutive state championship games.
The top-seeded and defending champion Trojans would not be denied another trip to state. They put on one last show in front of their home crowd Friday and looked like the team to beat again in Class 4A.
Senior Christian Wiggins became the program’s all-time leading scorer while leading Wayzata with 30 points in a convincing 105-70 victory against Hopkins for a sixth consecutive Class 4A, Section 6 title.
“It meant a lot,” Wiggins said. “It was everyone’s goal to win a section championship and get the chance to go play at state. We got the job done.”
Wiggins, an Iowa State recruit, had 22 points in the first half, including five of his team’s 11 three-pointers to give the Trojans a 22-point halftime lead.
Wiggins was given a standing ovation when it was announced he had made history as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Fellow seniors Nolen Anderson and Isaac Olmstead also drew cheers from fans as they left the floor one last time in the last five minutes with the game out of reach.
Anderson, a Gophers recruit, finished with 23 points. Olmstead, who had missed time recently because of a knee injury, hit a couple of three-pointers while orchestrating the high-scoring offense.
“We came in prepared and ready to go,” Anderson said. “It’s amazing getting to play in front of our home crowd on our home floor. It’s the last time we’re going to be able to do that here. It was a great feeling winning by the margin we did.”
In the previous meeting at Wayzata, Hopkins led by seven at halftime. The Trojans needed a last-second three-pointer from Wiggins to win 80-76 on Jan. 23, but they won 94-79 on Feb. 17 at the Royals Activity Center.
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“I told them I was really excited for [Friday] because I knew they were ready,” Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler said. “I knew what the outcome was going to be by the way they prepared and the look they had in their eyes.”
On Friday, Wiggins had his case for a Mr. Basketball moment five minutes in with a rare four-point play after getting fouled drilling a three-pointer at the top of the key. He added an emphatic two-handed dunk a minute later for a 15-8 lead.
Hopkins junior Ahmed Nur had eight of his 14 points early to get within 16-13, but Olmstead and Wiggins hit back-to-back three-pointers to start a 37-17 run.
Wiggins’ fifth shot from beyond the arc made it 50-28 with 2½ minutes left in the first half. Xavy Ivey nailed Wayzata’s 11th three-pointer in the period before the Trojans eventually took a 56-34 lead into halftime. Hopkins had only one three-pointer in the first half.
In the second half, Wiggins opened drawing a third foul on Hopkins star Jayden Moore. On the next possession, he scored a layup plus contact to make it 61-39 with just under 16 minutes left. That drew Tre Moore’s third foul to set the tone that there would be no comeback.
Juniors Max Beeninga and Ivey also added 14 and 11 points, respecitvely, for the Trojans. Tre Moore finished with 18 points to lead the Royals (21-8).
Hopkins coach Ken Novak Jr. is expected to retire now as the state’s all-time boys basketball leader with 1,013 victories.
Wayzata kept Novak’s storied program, though, from reaching the state tournament since he won his eighth state title in 2019. Jayden Moore, who finished with nine points Friday, finishes his career as the state’s all-time assist leader, but he has never beaten Wayzata in the section playoffs.
Class 4A, Section 2
Chaska 62, Prior Lake 59: The Hawks withstood a Lakers comeback in the final four minutes to hold on for their first section title since 2017.
Chaska (25-4), which led 39-29 at halftime, was up by 12 with less than four minutes to go, but the Lakers (21-7) used a 10-2 run to pull within 59-57 with 45 seconds remaining.
After two free throws from Tyler Forrest gave Chaska a 61-57 lead, Prior Lake’s Kolby Thompson quickly responded with two free throws at the other end with 15 seconds left.
Chaska’s Matthew Welter made one of three free throws with 8 seconds remaining for a three-point lead, and Prior Lake missed a tying three-point attempt in the final seconds.
Forrest scored 21 points to lead the Hawks, who have won 22 in a row after starting the season 3-4. The winning started after a 69-66 loss to Prior Lake on Dec. 29.
Kobby Sam-Brew led the Lakers with 18 points.
Class 4A, Section 5
Maple Grove 73, Osseo 61: Max Iversen scored 28 points and Jack Thelen 21 to lead the Crimson to their second consecutive section title. The victory was the 10th in a row for Maple Grove (23-6), who led by 14 at halftime.
Kwatamah Silikpoh scored 22 points and Owen Counce added 16 for the Orioles (22-7), who saw a 10-game winning streak end.
About the Authors
Marcus Fuller
Reporter
Marcus Fuller is Strib Varsity's Insider reporter, providing high school beat coverage, features, analysis and recruiting updates. He's a former longtime Gophers and college sports writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune.
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