Fifth seed Robbinsdale Armstrong boys basketball concluded their 2023-24 season last week, falling narrowly 56-52 to fourth seed Edina on the road in the Section 6AAAA quarterfinals.
Edina finished third-best in the Lake Conference standings this season with a 8-4 conference record. They went 15-11 overall, beating Minnetonka, Buffalo, and Eden Prairie in the final weeks of the regular season as they clinched a ninth place ranking for Class AAAA ahead of the postseason.
The Falcons led 28-23 at halftime, but faced a 33-24 second half comeback run from Edina, providing the hosts with a nail-biting ticket to the semifinals.
Desmond Ware led Armstrong’s scoring in the game with 13 points, while Charles Duncan and Navonn Fields added eight points each and Seth Newbern added seven, capping his performance off with a high-rising dunk.
Ware led the way with 382 points this season. Newbern was close behind with 325, passing the 1,000 point mark during the regular season. Duncan had 262 points this season, while Fields and Fitz Freeman had 212 and 198 respectively.
Armstrong boys basketball head coach Robert Ware said the Edina result was not what the team had hoped for, but that it concluded a season with many moments to be proud of for the Falcons.
“The season didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we’re definitely proud of the way our guys fought, executed, and played hard,” Ware said. “I thought the group developed as the season went on. We got off to a slow start, part of that was Seth Newbern being out with an injury, but the team adapted to that and learned to play together.”
Armstrong’s roster was not top-heavy with seniors and will have several returning players from this season.
“You can’t replace experience, so its invaluable for our returning players to have had this season growing through a tough conference, our league’s one of the best in the state, and then taking part in a tough possession battle in a section game,” coach Ware said. “I think it’ll be an important experience for our guys coming back next year. I’m excited about the players we have coming back next year like Desmond Ware, Charles Duncan, Joel Saah. That’s some serious firepower.”
Armstrong had five seniors - Navonn Fields, Seth Newbern, Lucas Priem, Bryan Swen, and Fitz Freeman. Ware noted that it will be a difficult group to replace, but one he’s also excited to see move on to the next level.
“It’s hard to replace the group of seniors we had. They’ve been around for awhile and they do a lot of work. We’ve been able to watch them grow for the last four years,” Ware said. “It’s going to be fun to watch these guys at the next level.”
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