Wildcats finish third in Class 4A boys tourney
In the late 2010s, after the latest in a string of losing records for the boys varsity team, Eagan High School basketball decided it had enough.
The program could remain mired in mediocrity, or it could do the things that brought success to some of the Wildcats’ rival schools in Class 4A.
“It’s been more than five years in the making where the whole community – not just the high school but the youth program as well – really decided, let’s commit to becoming a legit basketball community,” Wildcats head coach Kevin McKenzie said.
“We changed some things, amped up our training for the youth players and overall just gave it more dedication. Now we’re in a position to keep this up.”
The Wildcats had a chance to show a larger audience what they’ve been working on at last week’s state tournament. They finished third in Class 4A in the school’s first appearance at state since 2005.
What got people’s attention was a 73-70 quarterfinal victory over a Park Center team that had reached the state championship game the last two years. After losing to eventual state champion Minnetonka 68-45 in the semifinals, the Wildcats closed a 19-13 season by defeating Cretin-Derham Hall 84-65 in the third-place game March 23 at Concordia University in St. Paul.
Despite finishing tied for sixth in the South Suburban Conference, the Wildcats received the top seed in Class 4A, Section 3 and won it. They didn’t see themselves as being underdogs at state, just under the radar.
“We hear that people aren’t always complimentary of Eagan basketball because it’s been bad for a while,” McKenzie said. “But we know what we are. We know the work that we put in, and we always talk about how we have the right to be confident if we put in the work.”
This was McKenzie’s fifth season as Eagan’s head coach. He said the program’s re-dedication started with Josh Peltier, who was head coach for two seasons before McKenzie’s arrival. Peltier now is head coach at East Ridge High School.
What happened this season – especially in the playoffs – is the product of years of effort, McKenzie said.
“We’re not extremely surprised by this,” the coach said. “Everybody else is. But we knew what we could do.”
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half of their March 20 Class 4A quarterfinal game against Park Center before rallying to win in one of the biggest upsets in recent state tournament history.
Eagan took its first lead at 52-51 on Owen Bockenstedt’s layup with 5 minutes, 24 seconds remaining. The Wildcats led by seven with 1:13 to play before Park Center made one more push. The Pirates had the ball with five seconds left, trailing 73-70, but a steal by Eagan’s Trevor Syring ended the game.
Sophomore forward Alex Schroepfer scored 19 points, leading four Eagan players in double figures. Schroepfer made 12 of 15 free throws, including six of seven in the final 63 seconds as the Wildcats protected their lead.
Bockenstedt, a senior forward, played less than 20 minutes but finished with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Senior forward Charles Birk had 15 points, all on three-point baskets, and grabbed six rebounds. Senior forward Liam Madigan scored 10 points.
Park Center senior guard Casmir Chavis, a University of Washington commit, had 36 points – 26 of those coming in the second half – but could not bring his team back from the second-half deficit.
Turnovers, or the lack thereof, were key for Eagan. The Wildcats spread out ballhandling responsibilities, but had just 12 turnovers against an athletic Park Center team.
“Park Center’s the best we’ve seen at creating pressure,” McKenzie said. “But we have such a big (front) line that if you trap us with 5-11 guards, our point guard is 6-4 and can throw it over the top.”
The Wildcats couldn’t recover from 22 percent shooting (6-for-27) in the first half of the March 21 semifinal game against Minnetonka at Williams Arena. The Skippers (25-6) opened a 15-point lead by halftime and cruised to the victory. Schroepfer had 16 points for Eagan and Madigan led the Wildcats with eight rebounds.
Although Eagan occasionally struggled with turnovers in the third-place game, the Wildcats shot 52 percent from the field and 86 percent from the free-throw line to pull away from Cretin-Derham Hall (25-6) in the second half. They held Cretin-Derham Hall’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Joe Mitchell, to 3-for-14 from the field. Mitchell made 11 free throws to finish with 17 points.
Madigan and Schroepfer, who were named to the Class 4A all-tournament team, had 20 and 16 points in the third-place game. Birk had four three-pointers and finished with 20 points. Senior guard Max Buslee scored 11 points. Madigan also had 11 rebounds and six assists, leading the Wildcats in both categories.
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