Minnesota State Tournament: Thursday Game Recaps

Ryan James March 26, 2026 @ 10:07 PM

Totino-Grace 89 Northfield 61. Another state tournament game, another overwhelming effort of depth and defense from Totino-Grace that the opponent could not handle. The Eagles are putting a starting five on the floor and in Tubby Smith fashion at Williams Arena, bringing another five on and sending them at the opponent (Northfield) in the same way.

You deal with Malachi Hill Malachi Hill 6'0" | PG Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN pressuring you, and then you deal with Shay Jackson Shay Jackson 5'10" | PG Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN pressuring you. Tian Chatman Tian Chatman 6'5" | CG Totino-Grace | 2026 State MN hits threes and then Jaylan Hynes Jaylan Hynes 6'3" | SG Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN replaces him and also hits threes. You deal with Daniel Zoa Daniel Zoa 6'6" | PF/SF Totino-Grace | 2028 State MN jumping over you, and then you deal with Luther Bunge Luther Bunge 6'5" | PF Totino-Grace | 2026 State MN powering through you. It's Deangelo Dungey Deangelo Dungey 6'4" | SG/CG Totino-Grace | 2026 State MN trapping you and then he sits and Keishaun Rolle Keishaun Rolle 6'1" | PG/CG Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN is trapping you. Dothan Ijadimbola Dothan Ijadimbola 6'6" | SF Totino-Grace | 2026 State MN skillfully and size wise producing, then AJ Taban AJ Taban 6'6" | PF Totino-Grace | 2027 State MN . It's relentless.

Northfield turned the ball over 16 times and shot 20 of 51 with All State player Kayden Oakland Kayden Oakland 6'5" | SF Northfield | 2026 State MN taking just eight shots to score eight points. Meanwhile, the Eagles had five players scoring in double figures led by the 15 points off five threes from Hynes. Zoa had 11 points and seven boards. Liam Oakland Liam Oakland 6'3" | SG/CG Northfield | 2028 State MN led Northfield with 14.

DeLaSalle 73 Richfield 70. Richfield won game one, DeLaSalle won game two, and the rematch was expected at state and we got it in the semi-finals. It was athletes all over the floor working to find space. The best way to get space? A quick transition or force a turnover and fly the other way. DeLaSalle forced 16 Richfield turnovers and scored 20 points off of those turnovers. Kamar Thomas Kamar Thomas 6'4" | SG De La Salle | 2027 State MN found his way to the rim constantly scoring eight times in the paint and also adding another eight foul shots. His late game fall away jumper from 12 feet was the biggest make of the game and he had some important foul shots on his way to a 24 point game.

Thomas got help from fellow junior Jaden Udean who scored 19 points. Those seven buckets included three threes and four touch baskets going to the rim. Deon Wallace-Johnson Deon Wallace-Johnson 6'3" | SG/SF De La Salle | 2027 State MN added twelve points, six rebounds and five steals. Richfield got 22 attacking points from Dre Collins Dre Collins 6'4" | SF Richfield | 2027 State MN who also added ten rebounds for a double-double. Nate Clifford and Waleed Muhammad Waleed Muhammad 6'2" | SG/PG Richfield | 2027 State MN each added 15 points.

Chaska 60 Tartan 51. Tartan was undefeated and looked like they had a chance to play for their first state title since 2000. The Titans were undefeated and ranked number one. What slipped minds was the 23 game winning streak of a red hot Chaska team that hasn't won a state title since 2004. And now Chaska will get their chance on Saturday night!

How did it happen? Tartan is smaller but they are quicker and a bit deeper, and while they may be young, Chaska is also young. Tartan should have been able to move the basketball more but the ball just stuck too much and they took 32 threes out of their 63 attempts. Tyler Forrest Tyler Forrest 6'3" | PG Chaska | 2027 State MN played a monster role in that defensive effort forcing Kevin Wilson Jr. Kevin Wilson Jr. 5'10" | PG Tartan | 2028 State MN into a lack of comfort and a load of no pass contested bad shots on a 4 of 22 shooting day.

Meanwhile, Forrest made sure the ball moved well on the other end as Chaska got open looks for Jed Keenan Jed Keenan 6'4" | SF Chaska | 2029 State MN to score 17 points, Kalin Jochum Kalin Jochum 6'4" | SF Chaska | 2027 State MN to score 17 points, and Evan Atkinson Evan Atkinson 6'4" | SF Chaska | 2026 State MN to score 11 points. Forrest had eight assists to lead the way. Jaylen Goergen Jaylen Goergen 6'1" | SG Tartan | 2026 State MN led Tartan with 14 points.

Apple Valley 73 Maple Grove 63. Apple Valley shot 62 percent from the field. And they forced Maple Grove to shoot 38.6 percent from the field including 4 of 22 from the arc. It's incredible.

It was about a month ago I asked a coach in the South Suburban how the Eagles had lost ten games. The answer was…… “they don't play inspired enough both ways as a group”. At some point between a loss to Burnsville on February 19th and this past Tuesday, this group found their inspiration.

Maple Grove is a very good team but the better ball movement and better decision making came from the Eagles. Camare’ Young Camare’ Young 6'5" | PF Apple Valley | 2026 State MN went at the Maple Grove starting four man and had his way with 18 points on 9 of 13 shooting and seven assists. Trey Parker Trey Parker 6'3" | SG Apple Valley | 2026 State MN continues to be maybe the most under appreciated big shot maker in the state scoring 23 points with three threes and 9 of 15 shooting. Apple Valley shot 75 percent in the second half which was helped by Ryan Christiansen Ryan Christiansen 6'4" | PF Apple Valley | 2026 State MN , Gio Horton Gio Horton 5'11" | SG Apple Valley | 2029 State MN , and Tyrese Hutton Tyrese Hutton 6'5" | PF Apple Valley | 2027 State MN scoring nine each. Max Iversen Max Iversen 6'3" | PG Maple Grove | 2026 State MN led the Crimson with 24 points.