Sabers Fall Short in Quest for State Championship. Playing for 3rd-Place Trophy on Saturday
By Bill Schleper
It was a battle of powerhouses in Section 4A at “The Barn” (Williams Arena) on the University of Minnesota campus, with the #2-ranked Wayzata Trojans facing off against the #3-ranked Shakopee Sabers on Thursday night during the Minnesota State High School League Boys’ Basketball State Tournament. This was a rematch of a regular season game in which the Trojans handily embarrassed the Sabers by a whopping 27 points back in December.
That wake-up call had the Sabers doing some soul-searching. Knowing they had something to prove after that loss, they went on a ferocious tear, winning 20 of their next 21 games through the remainder of the regular season and into postseason play. That set the stage for this night—a clash of titans at the MSHSL State Tournament.
Although the Trojans escaped with the final score (59-55), the Shakopee Sabers proved that they are among the most talented and hard-working teams in the state, as they had the higher-seeded Trojans on the ropes throughout much of the game, still having a chance to come out victorious with less than a minute to play.
One of the top three-point shooting teams, Wayzata started the game with a three-pointer, followed by a bucket. Down 5-0, Shakopee senior Devin Pass stroked in a sweet three, followed by fellow senior Luke Wherley’s deuce, knotting the game at 5-5.
Wherley continued with a hot hand, nailing a pair of threes and scoring 10 of the Sabers' first 13 points of the game. Eli Schroeder pumped in a three, and the Sabers suddenly had a 16-9 lead over the favored Trojans.
Pass, along with 6’11” senior post man Tommy Auge and 6’ senior guard Isaac Cordes, went to the bench for some much-needed rest at the 12:01 mark, with the Sabers up 16-10. The Sabers could only muster one point of offense over the next 4 minutes and 50 seconds, but the defense held the Trojans to just four. Eli Schroeder again tallied a pair of threes, and the Sabers rebuilt their lead at 24-16.
Coming out of a TV timeout, Pass and Wherley sank threes, and the Sabers jumped to a 30-19 advantage. But after a no-call on what players and fans thought to be a foul on a three-point attempt by Cordes, Wayzata came down the court and dropped in their own three-pointer, making for a potential six-point swing and dropping the Sabers' lead to just seven at 31-24.
Wayzata started chipping away at the start of the second half, cutting the Sabers' lead to just one possession at 31-28. Cordes hit a bucket, followed by a crowd-igniting slam dunk by Auge, and the Sabers appeared to be back on a roll.
But the game became more physical, as a few more no-calls by the referees drew disgruntled murmurs from the Saber side of the Golden Gopher maroon-colored box seats at The Barn. Before long, Wayzata had managed to work their way back, and the Sabers relinquished the lead for the first time since midway through the first half. With just over 13 minutes to play, the tension started to grow as the Sabers trailed 36-35. The lead changed hands a few times up and down the court, but the Wayzata defense locked down. The Sabers also had numerous key defensive stops down the stretch but struggled with their free throws throughout the entire game, shooting under 35% from the charity stripe. Surrendering at least 10 points from the free-throw line ultimately proved to be the deciding factor in the game. Final score: Wayzata 59, Shakopee 55.
Still, this was a far cry from the lopsided defeat the Sabers suffered at the hands of the Trojans just a couple of months earlier—showcasing an incredible turnaround for this athletic and talented team with hopes of a state championship.
The good news is that the Sabers can still be one of the very few teams in the state tournament to finish their season with a victory, as they will play Maple Grove for the third-place trophy this Saturday afternoon (March 22) at 4:00 p.m. at Concordia University’s Gangelhoff Center, located at 235 Hamline Avenue N., St. Paul, MN.
Tickets are available online at: https://gofan.co/event/3202475?schoolId=MSHSL
The game will be live-streamed on NSPN.TV (subscription required) at: https://nspn.tv/MSHSL?utm_source=MN+Hubs&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=Hubs+clickthrough&utm_id=NSPN
