State boys basketball: Albany edges Minnehaha Academy for Class 2A crown

Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
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Minnehaha Academy played the game of its season Friday in the Class 2A state semifinals, knocking off top-seeded Holy Family in an overtime thriller. Topping Albany in Saturday’s state final roughly 17 hours later would require an equally excellent performance — and the Redhawks couldn’t quite muster it.

Minnehaha Academy wasn’t as sharp from the field nor on the glass as second-seeded Albany came away with a 72-65 victory for its first state title at Target Center.

“Our game was pretty emotional yesterday,” Redhawks coach Lance Johnson said. “I think those were the biggest things for me, the rebounding side of it and the fact we didn’t shoot like we normally do. … We had a little bit more fight in us (Friday) night, on the boards especially.”

Jerome Williams played all 40 minutes Friday. Rolyns Aligbe and Lorenzo Levy both played 37-plus minutes in the semifinals. Williams admitted his legs weren’t fully there Saturday as the Redhawks shot 37 percent from the floor and were outrebounded, 39-26.

“So, I give (my guys) credit for going out there today and doing what they did, but the fact is, we looked a little tired,” Johnson said. “And credit to (Albany), because they probably were, too.”

The Huskies actually played in the later of the two semifinals, Friday, although they were in control throughout that contest. And shortly after that victory, Albany turned the page. Huskies coach Cory Schlagel said his players got eight-plus hours of sleep. Defensively, the team has implemented so many coverages throughout the season that his coaching staff could simply diagnose which one was best to utilize Saturday and the guys could put it into play.

Albany made life difficult for Williams and Levy and forced other shooters to beat them. Mateo Cortes-Weiss splashed four triples for the Redhawks, but the rest of the team went a combined 2 for 13 from deep. Aligbe accounted for the majority of Minnehaha Academy’s success, tallying 20 points and seven boards on the interior, but it wasn’t enough.

“These kids are phenomenal at just executing what we have in,” Schlagel said. “They’re really good athletes and high-IQ athletes.”

Fifth-seeded Minnehaha Academy (23-9) managed to turn defense from an early season liability into a postseason strength, which propelled the team on its playoff run. But Albany shot 50 percent from the field Saturday, with Sam Hondl, Tysen Gerads, Zeke Austin and Ethan Borgerding all scoring 14-plus points.

Albany (32-1) was making its first tournament appearance since 2015, and second since 1997. The championship was the Huskies’ first in program history.

“This group has been tremendous to work with. They come to practice and work every day,” Schlagel said. “They’re in the weight room on their own; I don’t even have to tell them to go into the weight room. They get up early, usually on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All that stuff paid off for them.”

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