Review: Boys basketball wins section final in back and forth game against Wayzata

The Royals have broken the streak.  The past two seasons, the Wayzata Trojans have defeated Hopkins in the Class 4A, Section 6 final at Osseo High School.

With the 11 point victory over the Trojans, the Royals are headed to the Target Center to play in the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament.

Behind Kerwin Walton, junior, and Zeke Nnaji, senior, the Royals defeated Wayzata 82-71. Walton and Nnaji combined for 54 points.  The two of them were responsible for 65 percent of Hopkins’ offense.

Walton had an unbelievable first half, scoring only eight points less than the entire Wayzata team, dropping 20 points and splashing five three-pointers.

Wayzata went into the locker room during halftime with the intention of bottling up Walton. The one problem with that is that focusing on anyone other than Nnaji means that he gets to have his way in the paint.

Nnaji went into halftime with 12 points after a buzzer beater to finish the first half.

Nnaji took control in the second half with 18 points and finished the game with a total of 30. Walton opened up the second half right where he left off, making a contested three on the left wing. Though he cooled off for the rest of the second half, the junior guard finished the game with 25 points.

The Trojans leading scorer was senior Jacob Beeninga, with an impressive 30 point performance in his final game as a Trojan.

Beeninga is the all-time leader in points at Wayzata High School and finished his high school career averaging 17.2 points per game (PPG) this season.

The Royals have made it to the state tournament for the first time since defeating the Lakeville North Panthers in the 2016 Minn. state final.