Friday State All-Tournament Type Performances

Friday at state were the Semi-Finals for Class 1A and Class 2A, and they were some of the most competitive and exciting games. Defending 1A champion Cherry was in a dogfight with Nevis in their rematch from January at the Lake Superior Classic. In the end Cherry prevailed.    In the other 1A game the end result looks much larger than the game was played but Dawson-Boyd took care of the Red Lake County Rebels to advance to play Cherry. In 2A, Caledonia came at the favorite Albany and Albany kept responding to keep the undefeated season going.   In the other 2A game defending champion Breck who's not lost to a 2A team all year kept throwing haymakers at Waseca and Waseca kept going. Waseca, undefeated like Albany, slipped past Breck 68-60 to advance to play Albany Saturday.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Superstar Games</h2>    [player_tooltip player_id='2121332' first='Deron' last='Russell'] - Waseca doesn't have any stats reported publicly so following Russell has either been you have to watch him live or follow the Hudl recaps. Each week after another win I'd check Waseca's recaps and Russell would put up what seemed to be at least 20 points, a couple 3-pointers, a few assists, steals and a block. Friday the 2026 junior did more than just that, scoring 38 points on 14 of 23 shots and it didn't seem like a single defender that Breck threw at him could guard him. Russell in the 1st half posted up smaller defenders, and in the 2nd half when they put a long athlete on Russell he blew right past him off the dribble.   Russell was recently offered by Colorado State for football where he plays defensive back, his fifth offer, first major Division 1 offer. At six-foot-two-inches Russell has ideal height for a point guard, and used that size to finish at the rim and draw fouls (drew 8 fouls).  He showed the defensive back skills on defense versus Breck as well. He blocked 3 shots and swiped 4 steals.     Nevis's six-foot-five-inch 2026 junior AJ Bessler versus Cherry scored 39 points on 17 of 26 shooting. Bessler made 10 lay-ups in the 1st half, grabbed 3 offensive rebounds and scored off of those. Cherry's tallest player, six-foot-two-inches, left Bessler able to feast in the paint alongside senior [player_tooltip player_id='2103319' first='Alex' last='Lester']. Bessler was just as productive in the 2nd half and even stepped out on the perimeter to knock down a 3-pointer. Bessler finished through contact multiple times and drew 7 fouls on the Tigers inside.     [player_tooltip player_id='1579911' first='Carson' last='Brown'] - The six-foot-two-inch 2025 guard had almost perfect shooting performance while scoring a team high 22 points for the Cherry Tigers while also grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. Brown shot 8 for 9 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the line, and he showed good passing instincts throughout the contest playing as a secondary ball handler in Cherry's 5-out offense.     [player_tooltip player_id='2126128' first='Isaiah' last='Asuma'] - In January the six-foot 2027 sophomore Asuma picked up an offer from D2 Minnesota Duluth, and all season he's shown he's taken a step up on this Cherry Tigers team. Against Nevis like Asuma did versus BOLD in the first round game, he made 8 shots scoring 16 points and Nevis didn't have a guard that could stay with him.     [player_tooltip player_id='1628768' first='Connor' last='Duden'] - The 2026 six-foot guard from Red Lake County gave Dawson-Boyd all they could handle Saturday scoring 30 points on 12 of 22 shooting while making 6 3-pointers which was 50% of his attempted 3-pointers. Duden can make shots spotted up or off the dribble. He doesn't need much time or space to get his shot off. Duden grinds on the defensive side of the ball to secure steals and doesn't let opponents push him around for rebounds.     [player_tooltip player_id='1411178' first='Brayson' last='Boike'] - The Southwest Minnesota State Mustang six-foot-seven-inch committed forward took Dawson-Boyd on his back and put them into the title game. In the 2nd half Boike was 8 for 9 from the floor hitting two 3-pointers for 20 points and grabbed 5 of his 6 rebounds in the 2nd half. Boike versatility to play on the wing and finish with high percent at the rim makes him almost impossible to stop for undersized teams.     [player_tooltip player_id='1874834' first='Drew' last='Hjelmeland'] - The six-foot-seven-inch 2025 uncommitted forward scored 17 points on 7 makes including two 3-pointers to play a perfect Robin to Boike's Batman. Hjelmeland also controlled the defensive glass grabbing 10 defensive rebounds on his way to 13 total boards. As a team RLC grabbed 25 total rebounds. Hjelmeland was also defending the rim blocking 3 shots preventing easier scores. Underrated stat but not missed, Hjelmeland was dealing as a passer connecting for team high 8 assists.     [player_tooltip player_id='1574225' first='Miles' last='Newton'] - The six-foot-five-inch 2025 wing was all over the floor for Breck Mustangs versus Waseca offensively and defensively. Newton was tasked with trying to slow down Russell while also carrying the offensive load. In the game he scored 24 points, 10 at the free throw line. He made 6 shots including two 3-pointers. The jumper for Newton like in December looks much improved over previous years as he gets good rotational spin and his form looks much more fluid.     [player_tooltip player_id='1575328' first='Ezekial' last='Austin'] - The six-foot-two-inch 2025 Jamestown committed guard was scoring, rebounding, and dealing for Albany to keep their undefeated season alive. Scoring 22 points on 7 of 16 shooting including 5 of 9 from deep while grabbing 9 boards and dishing out 7 assists. Austin drew so much attention from Caledonia that one possession 3 sets of eyes locked onto him on the baseline and he made a simple jump pass over their arms into [player_tooltip player_id='1286547' first='Sam' last='Hondl'] for a paint jumper.

Friday at state were the Semi-Finals for Class 1A and Class 2A, and they were some of the most competitive and exciting games. Defending 1A champion Cherry was in a dogfight with Nevis in their rematch from January at the Lake Superior Classic. In the end Cherry prevailed.