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Minnehaha Academy turns on cruise control, drives through New Life Academy headed to state tourney

By Ricky Campbell, SportsEngine, 03/16/18, 10:00AM CDT

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The Redhawks won the Class 2A, Section 4 crown, giving them a chance to repeat as Class 2A state champions.

Minnehaha Academy guard Jalen Suggs drives for two of his 23 points against New Life Academy Friday night. The Redhawks advanced to next week's state tournament with a 77-34 victory over the Eagles. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Minnehaha Academy guard Jalen Suggs drives for two of his 23 points against New Life Academy Friday night. The Redhawks advanced to next week's state tournament with a 77-34 victory over the Eagles. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Click photos to view the entire gallery from the game

There was a four- or five-minute stretch Friday night when New Life Academy looked like it could hang around.

The Eagles were able to pick apart Minnehaha Academy’s full-court press, move the ball around the perimeter, run their offense and score on high-percentage shots. But, again, that stretch lasted only four or five minutes.

The No. 1-seeded Redhawks stormed into the Class 2A, Section 4 title game at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul with a mission: Beat the No. 3 seeded Eagles and march onto the state tournament for a chance to defend their crown. The result? A 77-34 near-perfect romping, led by sophomore Jalen Suggs’ 23 points and a team that wouldn’t give an inch to the Eagles.

“We’ve gone through a really tough year,” Suggs said. “Not only as a group, as teammates, but as a school. We took it on ourselves to bring the whole community together for something to root for.”

On Friday night, the Redhawks’ fans didn’t find much room for disappointment. It was one of those nights where Suggs made one mistake — a missed dunk opportunity — that didn’t cost his team anything. It was a night where senior forward and Denver commit JaVonni Bickham stayed quiet — scoring six points — and it didn’t matter. It was a night where every single Minnehaha Academy player logged minutes, including student section-favorite Hussein Farah — a senior guard who, in his rare court appearance, made the final two-point bucket before fans rushed the court.

Minnehaha Academy (25-4) had a plan, executed it and now the Redhawks are back in the tournament.

“For us, it was all about our energy level,” coach Lance Johnson said. “I think they were just ready to come, play hard, and — obviously we’re very talented — we told them if you play hard, we’ll be successful. That was it.”

Chet Holmgren, big and lanky, shot 3 of 6 from three-point land and contributed 11 points, and Lorenzo Smith added 10. Donovan Smith came off the bench to shoot a perfect 3 for 3 from behind the arc, finishing with nine points. It was one of those nights.

“These guys are awesome. They love each other,” Johnson said. “A lot of them have grown up with each other, so it truly is family.”

New Life Academy, which hasn’t appeared in a state tournament since 2004, and bowed out early in last year’s section playoffs to St. Agnes, couldn’t find a rhythm and couldn’t break the Minnehaha Academy defense. Full-court presses led to turnovers that led to easy points for the Redhawks, and frustration for the Eagles (20-9).

Led by senior forward Drew Wynia’s 17 points, the Eagles went further than they have in over a decade.

“I don’t think, if you look at this team and where we were at this summer, that you would have thought we’d be in this spot,” coach Kory Keikhoefer said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group.

“We ran into a great team,” he added. “They’ve got players upon players upon players that can really dominate a basketball game. We wanted to give them our best shot, and we wanted our shot. And we did.”

Minnehaha Academy senior JaVonni Bickham pulls down a rebound against New Life Academy Friday night in St. Paul. The Redhawks defeated the Eagles 77-34 in the Class 2A, Section 4 final. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Minnehaha Academy senior JaVonni Bickham pulls down a rebound against New Life Academy Friday night in St. Paul. The Redhawks defeated the Eagles 77-34 in the Class 2A, Section 4 final. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

First Report

Minnehaha Academy (25-4) will have a chance to defend its state title after routing New Life Academy 77-34 Friday night in the Class 2A, Section 4 championship game at Washington Technology Magnet School in St. Paul.

Sophomore standout Jalen Suggs led all scorers with 23 points, including 4 of 7 from behind the arc. Suggs was joined by the No. 1-seeded Redhawks’ Chet Holmgren, who had a 3-for-6 night in three-pointers, and finished with 11 points.  Lorenzo Smith contributed 10 points.

For No. 3 seed New Life Academy, senior forward Drew Wynia had 17 points. The Eagles (20-9) haven’t made a state tournament since 2004.

From start to finish, the Redhawks dominated, relying heavily on a full-court press for most of the game. A number of early turnovers contributed to easy points for Minnehaha Academy, which had a near-perfect game.

With a sizable lead midway through the second half, the Redhawks pulled their starters, allowing bench players the chance to play valuable minutes.

New Life Academy's Drew Wynia looks for space to shoot under the basket against Minnehaha Academy. The Eagles fell to the Redhawks 77-34 in the Class 2A, Section 4 final in St. Paul. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

New Life Academy's Drew Wynia looks for space to shoot under the basket against Minnehaha Academy. The Eagles fell to the Redhawks 77-34 in the Class 2A, Section 4 final in St. Paul. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

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