#MNStateHoops21: Top 10 (Plus One) Quarterfinal Performances

<p>There were many exciting games to kick off the #MNStateHoops21 tournament — initiated by a buzzer-beater and finishing with a monster upset. Let’s cycle through some of the heroes in the quarterfinal rounds of the State Tournament.</p> <p><strong>"Winner" set for the Otters!</strong> The sole boys state game of Tuesday night was an excellent matchup of big, tough Class AA teams in #3-N Fergus Falls and #2-N Annandale. Neither team got out in front by more than a handful of points and down the stretch execution wilted as a byproduct of many turnovers — that is, right up until the final play of the game.</p> <p>[embed]https://twitter.com/JaredNHR/status/1377081919532318722?s=20[/embed]</p> <p>Fergus Falls head coach Matt Johnson called timeout with 3.6 seconds left after advancing the ball to the frontcourt, drawing up a variation of Celtics head coach Brad Stevens’ "Winner" SLOB set. An excellent cross-court pass from Kaden Conklin spaced the defense enough for Otter leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id="567061" first="Dominic" last="Aguilar"] to wiggle free and bank one home to break the tie and advance Fergus Falls to the semifinals. It was the University of Mary commit’s only bucket of the second half, but definitely the biggest one — he finished with 14 points.</p> <p><strong>Beeninga Time. </strong>In a matchup of uber-productive offenses in Wayzata and Duluth East, it was Trojans guard [player_tooltip player_id="774744" first="Eddie" last="Beeninga"] who had the most effective scoring game. His 26 points helped Wayzata keep the Greyhounds at arm’s length in the second half, pulling away 78-69 thanks to a big run opening the second half. He’s joining the Dragons of MSU-Moorhead next season, the third Beeninga to do so in the last five years. But don’t worry, there are two more after him in the Wayzata pipeline!</p> <p><strong>Know this name!</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="774827" first="Jakob" last="Braaten"] has been one of the best five southern MN players this season and he showed why against top-rated Minnehaha Academy Wednesday, pouring in 29 points and getting the Byron Bears within four points of the Redhawks in crunch time. Jake is a physical, skilled point guard that doesn’t miss open looks and has great smarts in any role he takes on offense. I think he could start and contribute in the MIAC right away, maybe even better than that.</p> <p><strong>Know this name part two! </strong>Odds are you haven’t watched the Hancock Owls much at all this season — neither have I! But if you can, go back to their huge win over top-rated North team Nevis Wednesday and watch 6-foot-7 forward [player_tooltip player_id="958732" first="Matt" last="Thompson"] dominate for 29 points. The junior cleaned the offensive glass while the Tiger zone watched, and even banked in a three at the halftime buzzer to give the Owls an eight-point lead. Thompson reminds me of former Rocori big man Derek Thompson a bit — long, lanky but strong, good ball skills for his size and a relentless rebounder. This 2022 will definitely be on the summer radar.</p> <p><strong>The Dallager Gator dagger.</strong> 6-foot-1 Badger/Greenbush-Middle River junior guard Kobey Dallager led all scorers in the 58-52 hard-earned win against Deer River with 25 points — it’s hard to outscore [player_tooltip player_id="958848" first="Ty" last="Morrison"] and the Warriors, but Dallager’s physical, inside-out approach got him the looks he needed on the block and at the free throw line. BGMR held Deer River 30 points under their season average and a big part of that muscle on both ends was Dallager — he had a big bucket and two freebies down the stretch to give the Gators a permanent lead as well.</p> <p><strong>Spartans = Scary. </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="774836" first="Lamar" last="Grayson"] is gonna keep pushing until somebody stops him. Richfield needed all of his 29 points against Mankato West to prevail 67-63 Wednesday and move on to the AAA semifinals. Grayson’s ability to contort his body in the air and make tough shots that most guards wouldn’t even consider makes him a dangerous threat in the playoffs — sometimes you’re just on one. [player_tooltip player_id="958679" first="Mitchell" last="January"] also had 15 points for the Spartans, who are playing lights-out in March.</p> <p><strong>Tip of the cap for Francis. </strong>The previously-undefeated Champlin Park Rebels were stunned in overtime by Maple Grove Wednesday, but it was not for lack of star power showing up. UC-San Diego-committed [player_tooltip player_id="567044" first="Francis" last="Nwaokorie"] feasted in the paint for 31 points and double-digit rebounds, beating Crimson defenders to the block and the offensive glass consistently. His game-tying pull up triple at the end of regulation gave the Rebels an extra four minutes to come back and win; they came up short, but Nwaokorie balled out in his final high school game.</p> <p>[embed]https://twitter.com/JaredNHR/status/1377431732610166787?s=20[/embed]</p> <p><strong>Crimson wing efficient in the clutch. </strong>6-foot-4 Maple Grove senior Morgan Moore finds the ball no matter where he’s at on the floor — he can rip drive you baseline, put back a miss over contesting rebounders, feel out the opening on a cut behind the defense or knock down a corner three. He did some of everything for the Crimson in their monumental victory over Champlin Park in the AAAA quarterfinals, tallying a team-high 22 points and snagging five rebounds. D3s should get on this late bloomer. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="958650" first="Jon" last="Haakenson"] came up big with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as well, finding nice synergy with Moore cutting to the rim.</p> <p><strong>Cade shoots, De wins. </strong>There hasn’t been a whole lot of [player_tooltip player_id="774736" first="Cade" last="Haskins"] buzz from my vantage point this year — he’s been guarding bigs all season and exerting a ton of effort on defense while getting his teammates involved too. Wednesday night, he came out firing, and when the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter does that, he can’t be stopped naturally. Haskins was 6-of-9 from downtown on his way to 32 points in a 92-72 win over the Hibbing Bluejackets. That hot shooting will hopefully stick around in the semifinal meeting with Minnehaha Academy. Hibbing point guard [player_tooltip player_id="850731" first="Ayden" last="McDonald"] scored 26 points in the defeat.</p> <p><strong>Southwest Minnesota stars light up.</strong> Two teams that were sure to fill up the scoreboard were Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s and Central Minnesota Christian — their Class A quarterfinal matchup did not disappoint as two junior guards, SESM’s Trent Steffensmeier and CMCS’s [player_tooltip player_id="958706" first="Case" last="Mulder"], traded 30-balls. The Knights prevailed 86-73 with a little more balance behind Steffensmeier, whose 30 points pushed him past 1,000 for his career. Mulder was 12-19 from the field with five assists as well, getting nearly anywhere he wanted on the offensive end.</p> <p><strong>Wednesday's chairman of the boards! </strong>A late addition to the list (thanks for the assist, Hayfield athletics Twitter!) is definitely worth noting - Hayfield forward Easton Fritcher dominated the glass for 29(!) rebounds against a guard-heavy Legacy Christian team Wednesday. The Vikings controlled nearly every aspect of the game en route to a 62-43 4-over-1 upset in Class A. The guards scored, but Fritcher's activity on the glass gave them the opportunities. According to my research, that's good for second-most rebounds in a game in State Tournament history and just outside the top 10 in any game.</p>