Add another trophy to the bulging case at Lindbergh Center after Kerwin Walton scored 17 points and Dane Zimmer got 21 rebounds to lead the Hopkins Royals to a 55-40 win over the Lakeville North Panthers in the Class AAAA championship game Saturday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.
It was the 10th state title for the Royals in 22 state tournament appearances and the second by a Hopkins basketball team in a week. Last Saturday, the Hopkins girls basketball team took home the Class AAAA title trophy with a victory over the Stillwater Ponies.
Both teams were frigid from the field early in the first half. Zeke Nnaji, who will play next season in Arizona, put the Royals on the board wih a pair of free throws 1:19 into the game. He would hit two more to put the Royals on a 4-0 run. Eli Mostaert would begin the Panthers scoring on a layup with 14:49 left in the first half. Tyler Wall would tally to tie the game at four. Both teams would hit a shot from Marquette Ave. Walton would connect for Hopkins and Jack Rusch for Lakeville North. Rush would also be the recipient of a Will Mostaert assist that would put the Panthers ahead. The lead would be short lived as Nnaji would hit a three pointer. Nnaji would make an outstanding inside pass that would result in a basket for Jalen Treml. Andy Stafford would hit a three pointer to spark a 5-0 run. Walton and Nnjai would also hit three pointers and Lakeville North would end the half on a 4-0 run that would cut the Hopkins halftime lead to 24-17.
The Panthers would come close to the Royals in the second half as Tommy Jensen would score first :59 into the half followed by a three pointer from Tate Staloch. Wall would tie the game and put Lakeville North ahead on Jensen's alley oop pass for a dunk. Nnaji would even the score at 26 and Stafford's jumper put the Royals back in the lead. The lead would increase as the Royals would put the Panthers away with a 12-0 run. Wall would be a bright spot for the Panthers in the second half by scoring five straight points. The Lakeville North defense would attempt to keep Hopkins from taking off the clock by committing fouls that would send the Royals to the free throw line and they would go 13-23 from the line in the second half and 20-31 for the game.
Other Hopkins players in double figures were Nnaji with 14 points and eight assists followed by Stafford adding 10. Wall was the leading scorer for Lakeville North with 19 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots. Jack Rusch added 10 points for the Panthers.
The Royals conclude the season with a record of 27-4 and the Panthers end the year 27-5.
In the third place game that was played at Ganglehoff Center on the Concordia University campus in St. Paul, the top seeded Park Center Pirates got 15 points from Khari Broadway and Tommy Chatman that led them to a 61-59 win over the East Ridge Raptors.
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