Minnetonka upsets Wayzata 72-61 in state boys basketball finals

After losing to Wayzata twice during the Lake Conference boys basketball season, Minnetonka turned the tables in the state Class AAAA championship game Saturday, March 23, at Williams Arena.

Minnetonka set the tone for what would become a 72-61 victory by taking leads of 4-0 and 8-4 early in the first half. With that early momentum, the Skippers led by as many as 14 points prior to halftime and took a 35-28 lead to the locker room.

A look at the halftime statistics showed a few things the crowd of more than 12,000 expected and also a few things nobody expected.

Wayzata’s All-State 6-9 senior forward Jackson McAndrew scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds in the first half. That was expected. Minnetonka 6-3 forward Jordan Cain scored 11 points, which was also expected. What wasn’t expected was the tenacity that 6-5 senior forward Kayden Wells brought to the floor.

Wells’ first half was good, but his second half was even better. Guarding McAndrew most of the time, Wells also excelled in every offensive category. By the end of the night, he had 19 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.

“I can’t say enough about the way Kayden played tonight,” Minnetonka head coach Bryce Tesdahl said after the game. “He was our glue. Most games, he does all of the things that don’t show up in the statistics - screening, defending, boxing out.”

There are times when a team needs an unsung hero to step up, and Wells did that in the second half.

Minnetonka built its lead back up to 46-33 on a three-point shot from the corner by senior point guard Andy Stefonowicz, who had a statistical night almost as good as Wells’ big night. Stefonowicz matched Wells’ 19 points while also contributing eight rebounds and five assists.

There were times during the second half when it looked like Wayzata would make one of its typical runs with drives to the basket three-pointers falling and gritty defense forcing turnovers. Yes, there were a couple of runs, but they were not sustained for long.

Wayzata’s final push cut a double-digit Minnetonka lead to 66-61 with only 1:20 left in the second half. The Trojans had their chance, but misfired on back-to-back three-point tries.

Perhaps Minnetonka was finally getting tired near the end of the second half. Skipper head coach Bryce Tesdahl used only six players in the championship game. Two of them, Cain and Stefonowicz, played the full 36 minutes. Senior guard Greyson Uelmen and junior guard Isa El-Amin played 35 and 35 minutes, respectively, and Wells was on the floor for 31 minutes. The additional eight minutes were played by junior forward Malachi Boadi, who made two of the three shots he took for four points.

Cain finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Uelmen’s shooting was slightly off. He came into the title game with a 20 point average in the first two games at state. His total on championship night was nine, but he more than made up for it defensively, holding high-scoring Wayzata sophomore guard Isaac Olmstead to only four points.

McAndrew led Wayzata with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Christian Wiggins, the other sophomore starting guard for Wayzata made three three-point shots in five attempts and was five-for-five from the foul line on his way to 18 points.

Another very effective player for the Trojans, 6-4 senior forward Nepstad, had eight points on four of eight shooting and had a great night passing with nine assists. Wayzata kept the ball moving and had 20 assists to Minnetonka’s 10. The Skippers maintained their lead mainly by making strong drives to the basket. Cain was especially good in that regard and Stefonowicz picked his spots on the attack.

Usually a good three-point shooting team, Minnetonka connected for only two of 12 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Wayzata was below its season norm, going seven-for 24.

Smaller than Wayzata almost across the board, Minnetonka had a 43-28 edge in rebounds.

After the game, Minnetonka head coach Tesdahl said, “We didn’t have to be perfect to beat Wayzata tonight, but we had to be great.”

The greatness came through a more aggressive approach. In one of the games during the season, Wayzata romped to a 101-85 win over Tonka on its home court.

An increased emphasis on defense late in the season helped Minnetonka cut 40 points off of the 101 in the state finals.

“We picked up our pressure and ball-hawked them,” Tesdahl said. “Our goal was to take their guards out of their rhythm.”

Uelmen said the two losses during the season were all but forgotten on championship night.

“We came out fired up and figured this would be the game to beat them,” he said.

Cain agreed. “We saw a lot of comments on Twitter,” he said. “In our minds, we know that we’re as good as Wayzata. Maybe even better when we’re playing our best.”

Stefonowicz faced pressure all night as he was mostly guarded by Wayzata’s defensive stopper, Wiggins.

“I knew I had to be strong with the ball,” he said. Stefonowicz had only one turnover in playing all 36 minutes. And Minnetonka had only eight as a team.

Minnetonka did a good job of managing fouls. El-Amin, Uelmen, Cain and Wells each finished with three fouls. Stefonowicz and Boadi committed two each. McAndrew and Wyatt McBeth each committed four fouls for Wayzata. Ben Shaffer and Brayden Sandmann had three fouls each.

Wayzata head coach Bryan Schnettler has taken his team to four consecutive state championship games, winning titles in 2021 and 2023 and finishing second in 2022 and this year.

“Outside of tonight, our guys had the best season in school history,” Schnettler said. The Trojans set a school record for victories by finishing 29-2.

“The guys on the team absolutely enjoyed being around each other every day,” the coach explained. “They all care even more for the team than they did back in November.”

Championship night didn’t go as planned, yet the Trojans still had a chance to win.

“We almost got it to a one-possession game, but we missed a three-point shot and Minnetonka scored,” Schnettler said. “Sixty-one points is our lowest total of the season. We were confident going into the game, but it didn’t seem like we had the edge that we’ve had all year. Minnetonka found a way to come up with plays at the end of the game.”

Schnettler said all of his varsity players contributed to the 29-2 record. And he had special praise for McAndrew, the two-time All-State player, who will continue his career at Creighton University next season.

“Jackson is the best player we’ve ever had,” Schnettler said. “The progress he has made every year is amazing, and he thing is, his best basketball is still ahead of him.”

In addition to putting up big stats, including a 25 point per game scoring average, McAndrew has become more assertive and outgoing through his success in the game.

“More gratifying than anything is the way that Jackson has grown as a leader,” Schnettler said.

While the Wayzata coaches will miss this season’s seniors, the cupboard is still loaded for next season with starting guards Olmstead and Wiggins and sixth man McBeth returning. In the pipeline are more good players ready to fill the voids. Wayzata isn’t just one team - it’s a program. One that is eager to continue a championship tradition.