Class AAAA Boys Basketball State Semifinal Wayzata 59, Cretin-Derham Hall 48

Points were hard to come by for much of the Class AAAA semifinal between No. 3 Wayzata and unseeded Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. Possessions were long and drained the clock, and only rarely, resulted in a basket. Defense on both sides of the floor made it a grind-it-out, old-fashioned kind of game that seemed to set the stage for a last-possession kind of outcome.

Then the floodgates opened.

And Wayzata had the key.

Wayzata, the defending Class AAAA champion, turned a four-point deficit into a runaway with a late second-half surge that paved the way for a stunning reversal of fortune in a 59-48 victory. Junior guard Hayden Tibbits spurred the sprint to the finish line with his own 10-0 run that built a lead that the Trojans (27-4) wouldn’t surrender. He finished with 23 points. In contrast, he was held to a single basket on 1 of 5 shooting in the first half.

Senior forward Carter Bjerke added 14 points, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, in helping send the Trojans to their second victory over Cretin-Derham Hall (20-11) this season. A year ago, Wayzata topped the Raiders for the big-school crown. Next up for Wayzata is a date with No. 1 Park Center for the Class AAAA crown on Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Cretin-Derham Hall, which held a 21-19 halftime lead, had things going its way with a surge of its own in building a 39-35 lead with 7:46 remaining in regulation time after senior guard Tre Holloman hit a three-pointers. Holloman, a Michigan State recruit and the Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year, finished with 21 points, including 5 of 8 from three-point range. But following a timeout to discuss protecting the lead, Wayzata dashed that strategy with an overwhelming game-deciding surge.