Eastview, with 6-22 record, returns to section final
Is it even possible for a No. 1 section seed to be an underdog at home against a 6-22 team?
Eagan boys basketball coach Kevin McKenzie, whose team is the aforementioned No. 1 seed, knows that idea is a tough sell. But he’s going with it anyway. “We tend to play better when we have an underdog mentality,” he said.
On Thursday, the Wildcats will try to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2005 when they play host to Eastview in the Class 4A, Section 3 championship game. Tipoff is 7 p.m. While it’s Eagan’s home floor, the fact that the schools are only a few miles apart suggests there will be a lot of noise made for both teams.
The Wildcats and Lightning played twice during the South Suburban Conference schedule, with Eagan winning both. But the two games were decided by a total of nine points and the first one went to overtime.
What makes Eastview dangerous now, McKenzie said, is it has finally found a groove and has the section’s best player in senior forward Jonathan Mekonnen.
Thursday’s game is a rematch of last year’s section final, although both teams were in different places then. Last year Eastview was one of the top-ranked teams in Class 4A and was a heavy favorite in the section final. The Lightning won handily and went on to fourth place in the state tournament.
This year Eagan got the top seed in the section and won its first two playoff games to improve to 16-12 overall. Eastview, struggling with injuries and inexperience, floundered in the regular season before starting the playoffs with decisive victories over Park of Cottage Grove and Apple Valley. It’s the first time all season Eastview has won back-to-back games.
As boys section tournaments continued this week across all enrollment classes, only two teams with losing records are still playing – Mahnomen/Wabun (11-17) in Class 1A, Section 8, and Eastview.
Eastview coach Danny Olsen said his team is leaning into the theme of being on a playoff run with a losing record.
“We said at the beginning of the season the goal was to get back to the state tournament,” he said. “After all we’ve been through, we still have a chance and we’re really excited about that.”
Eagan withstood a scare from eighth-seeded Bloomington Jefferson in the first round of the section tournament and won 63-60. In the next round the Wildcats performed like the team McKenzie has seen most of the season, defeating Rosemount 77-63 on March 8.
Seniors Max Buslee and Charlie Birk each scored 23 points in the Rosemount game and made 12 of the Wildcats’ 16 three-pointers.
“Charlie and Max, our wings, both have over 80 threes this season,” McKenzie said. “In our last game, Max also got to the basket for four or five layups. When he’s doing that, it makes it tougher for teams to crowd him on the perimeter.”
Senior forward Liam Madigan had 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists in the Rosemount game. Alex Schroepfer had seven rebounds against Rosemount and 25 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Jefferson.
The Wildcats generally will have five players 6-foot-2 to 6-7 on the court, which they hope will be enough size to counter the threat posed by Eastview’s Mekonnen, who’s 6-8.
Mekonnen, the only returning starter from last year’s Eastview state tournament team, was dominant in the first two rounds of the section playoffs. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Lightning beat Park of Cottage Grove 86-67. In the section semifinals against an Apple Valley team that beat the Lightning twice in the regular season, Mekonnen had 37 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four steals as Eastview won 73-63. He also played solid defense against promising Apple Valley sophomore Camare Young.
Olsen said Mekonnen, a Colorado State recruit, typically has played his best against the strongest teams on the Lightning’s schedule. He was asked to do the same in the playoffs and has delivered, the coach added.
Slowly but surely, the Lightning built a lineup around Mekonnen. Because of injuries, Eastview has had its full roster available for only a handful of games, Olsen said.
Senior guard Abdulqadir Abdulqadir scored 16 points against Apple Valley and senior forward Nolan Segner had 25 against Park. Forward Jack Frigstad and guards Ben Schmitz, Aaiden Walters, Erik Olson and Ju Ju Stampley also are key players in the Lightning’s rotation, Olsen said Stampley, a senior, was one of the players who missed time in the regular season but are back now to assist in the playoff push.
The Eagan-Eastview winner goes to the state Class 4A quarterfinals Wednesday, March 20, at the Target Center. Quarterfinal matchups will be determined Saturday after coaches seed the qualifying teams.
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