Section finals Thursday and Friday will set the fields for next week’s boys basketball state tournaments.
Boys basketball section finals in Class 4A mostly pit favorites, but Eastview and its 22 losses stand out
Eastview pulled off upsets in the first two rounds and will play top seed Eagan for a spot in the state tournament.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 14, 2024 at 3:32PM
A pattern has developed in Class 4A, with one slight outlier and one far afield.
The top two seeds will play each other in six 4A section finals. One of them is already over. Top seed Wayzata routed second seed Hopkins 105-76 on Monday in the Section 6 championship.
But a third seed, Tartan (24-4), worked its way into the Section 6 final, and a sixth seed, Eastview (6-22), is playing for a spot at state in Section 3.
Tartan will take on top seed Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday, and Eastview will play top seed Eagan on Thursday.
Tartan reached the final with a 72-69 victory over second-seeded East Ridge, a victory that had coach Mark Klingsporn sounding confident.
“They were the higher seed,” he said. “They were at home. They weren’t a good matchup for us. They were playing their best heading into the playoffs. ... They are a very good team.”
Eastview’s challenge is difficult, but Jonathan Mekonnen, a 6-8 senior who scored 37 points in a section semifinal win over Apple Valley, said Eastview is better than those 22 losses indicate.
“The regular season didn’t go as we wanted,” he said. “Our record doesn’t define us.”
Maple Grove is still playing because of a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded by freshman Baboucarr Ann in a 61-60 victory Friday over Osseo.
“During a timeout before Osseo’s possession, we told [our players] make or miss, we are not going to take a timeout,” Crimson coach Nick Schroeder said. “We told our point guard to catch the ball on the run and everyone else to fill lanes. We got a fortunate bounce and Baboucarr didn’t hesitate.”
The Crimson will take on top-seeded Park Center on Thursday for a state tournament berth.
The state tournament brackets and seeding will be revealed Saturday.
• In Class 2A, Section 5, Breck will meet Minneapolis North at Augsburg University in a rematch of an early-season game. Both teams won their semifinals Wednesday night: The No. 1-ranked Mustangs defeated Blake 87-61. North beat Holy Family 104-86. When the teams met in December at Breck, the Mustangs won 90-75.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
