Boys Basketball State Tournament 2024: Class AAAA semifinals

Wayzata will conclude its season of dominance in the same place it has been in the previous three seasons: In the Class AAAA championship game.

The top-seeded Trojans rolled again, this time posting a 74-48 victory over No. 5 Cretin-Derham Hall in the Class AAAA semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament on Thursday, March 21 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

All-state guard Jackson McAndrew was a force on both ends of the floor with 25 points and 13 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive end, to power the Trojans (29-1) into the championship game on Championship Saturday. It will be the fourth consecutive season that Wayzata has qualified for the title game. The only time they did not emerge victorious was 2022 when they were the runner-up to Park Center. In 2021, the Trojans defeated Cretin-Derham Hall, and a year ago, Wayzata defeated Park  Center for the big-school crown.  

Wayzata’s other state championship in Boys Basketball was in 1959.

McAndrew was 11 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, as the Trojans built a 13-point lead at the break and extended it by 13 more in the second. Sophomore guard Isaac Olmstead contributed 12 points and seven assists.

Cretin-Derham Hall (25-5), which upended No. 4 Farmington in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, had 10 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Monteff Dixon.

A familiar foe will be waiting for the Trojans. In the lower-bracket semifinal, No. 3 Minnetonka posted a 68-45 victory over unseeded Eagan. During Wayzata’s current 15-game winning streak, two of the victories were against Minnetonka during the Lake Conference schedule. The first was a 98-87 victory on Feb. 1; the other a month later by a 103-88 score.

This is the second consecutive weekend that Lake Conference schools will meet for a Class AAAA basketball championship. Last week, No. 2 Minnetonka defeated top-seeded Hopkins for the Girls Basketball state crown.

Minnetonka’s boys team earned its way to a championship game for the fifth time. The Skippers were the single-class champion in 1965 in its first appearance in the state tournament, the 1998 Class AAAA champion and the 2008 Class AAAA champion. In 1999, the Skippers were the Class AAAA runner-up.

This latest trip was spurred by senior guard Greyson Uelmen, who had 21 points and six rebounds. He was 8 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 5 from three-point range. Senior guard Jordan Cain contributed 14 points for Minnetonka (24-6).

Eagan (18-13), which recorded the upset of the tournament with a victory over No. 2 Park Center in the quarterfinals, trailed by 15 at the half, but kept coming at the Skippers until the final horn. Sophomore guard Alex Schroepfer had 16 points.

Consolation semifinals

• Farmington 98, Rogers 69: Farmington rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to race past Rogers in the consolation semifinals at the Gangelhoff Center at Concordia (St. Paul). Senior post Brandon Hrncir and senior guard Liam Roche had 20 points each to pace the Tigers (24-7). Senior guard Jaxson Fuller had 18 points for the Royals (21-10).
• Park Center 90, Coon Rapids 54: Senior guard Ari Gooch scored 30 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists to power Park Center (26-4) past Coon Rapids in the second of two consolation semifinals. Senior guard Jackson Fowlkes 27 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Casmir Chavis had a triple-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Junior guard Jaxon Young had 20 points for the Cardinals (16-15) and senior point guard Jerry Freeman added 15.