The motivation for Minnetonka came easily.
The Skippers had played and lost to Wayzata, their Lake Conference rival, twice during the regular season. Fact is, nobody on the roster has been part of a Minnetonka victory over Wayzata.
The Skippers had been targets of taunting, scorn and just plain trash talk on social media in the days leading up to the Class 4A boys basketball championship game. There was no way to avoid dwelling on the challenge ahead, no way to put it out of their minds.
So they went in the opposite direction. Rather than play down the stress of the biggest game of the season approaching, they focused on it, obsessed over it. They made the game the sole object of their attention.
And it worked. Minnetonka led from start to finish Saturday night and walked away from Williams Arena with a 72-61 victory over the No. 1-ranked defending state champs.
"I'd say we were definitely fired up," senior guard Greyson Uelmen said. "We saw it all over Twitter, Instagram. We lost to them, like, 19 times in a row previously. We knew that this would be the game to beat them. We were very confident as a team. When we hit them twice, we just didn't execute. Tonight we executed."
Minnetonka (25-6) ran smoothly and efficiently all night. The Skippers took the lead on a jump shot by Uelmen 20 seconds into the game and never trailed.
Jitterbug point guard Andy Stefonowicz forced the tempo, guard Jordan Cain controlled the middle of the court, forward Kayden Wells produced a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds), and Minnetonka beat Wayzata this time.
"Our energy tonight was the best all season," Minnetonka coach Bryce Tesdahl said. "We knew we didn't have to be perfect, but we needed to be great on both ends of the floor. And these guys were great, especially on the defensive end."
Minnetonka played a little rough, trying to throw Wayzata 6-9 superstar swingman Jackson McAndrew off his game while also pressuring the Trojans' supporting cast. The Skippers held the Trojans (29-2) to their lowest point total of the season.
McAndrew, whom Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler called "the best player we've ever had," finished with 21 points, but he scored just four after halftime.
"They were very physical, and in a way we just didn't have the edge we'd played with all season," Schnettler said.
