There are no compression sleeves, under-jersey t-shirts or funky socks. The look for Wayzata is decidedly old-school, right down to their loose tank-top jerseys. It’s more Hoosiers than hip-hop.

“It’s funny. We talked about Indiana and ‘Hoosiers’ coming over,” Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler said. “Although I don’t think any of them are old enough to know what ‘Hoosiers’ is.

Wayzata plays basketball with a classic team-first style and so far, it’s been highly effective. The latest victim was Lakeville North, which surrendered a nine-point second-half lead to the relentless Trojans in a 69-66 Wayzata victory.

“When we put five players out there, we know every single player out there can score and we believe in every one of them,” sophomore guard Jacob Beeninga said. “We work on cutting and moving without the ball and it really helps. We’re really hard to guard.”

The Trojans played in their first state tournament since 1959 and their unfamiliarity with their surroundings showed in the first half as they fell behind 34-27. They quickly erase that deficit after halftime, starting the second half with a 14-2 run. 

It started a series of runs that always seemed to turn in Wayzata’s favor.
Lakeville North came back and took a 55-46 lead. Wayzata, unfazed, rallied to take the lead. Lakeville North got a potentially game-changing four-point play – a three-pointer and a foul – to take a 66-65 lead with 23 seconds left. Wayzata rallied again, going ahead for good, 67-66, on two free throws by Gavin Baumgartner 10 seconds later.

“We have this thing: Refuse to lose,” said Baumgartner, who scored 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career. “We felt confident. We just had to keep pulling through it, go get that win.”

JIM PAULSEN

Wayzata rallied from a nine-point deficit with just over 8 minutes left to defeat Lakeville North 69-66 on Wednesday in the Class 4A quarterfinals at Target Center.

Gavin Baumgartner hit two free throws with 14.3 seconds left to give Wayzata a 67-66 lead. Baumgartner finished with a team-high 19 points. Jacob Beeninga capped the scoring with two free throws with 3.4 seconds left.

Nathan Reuvers led Lakeville North with 19.

Check back later for more on the game.