Photo Gallery: Park of Cottage Grove vs Stillwater
The Ponies' plan to shut down the Gophers' commit at times was to put bodies on him in an attempt to help slow him. The rest of the Wolfpack did their part when needed, with OT Omot, Evan Bearth and Brady Perryman all finishing in the double digits.
“He is so dominant in there, you can call him little Shaq," coach Mike Weah said. "They put their whole team down there on him and left our guys out there to shoot. Our guards needed that confidence to knock down some shots, so we were pretty happy that they did that.”
Payne's standout senior year started with a commitment to play at the University of Minnesota, and earlier this month he was also named one of the finalists for the Minnesota Mr. Basketball award.
“I am pumped to be a Gopher," Payne said on Wednesday. "I can hold my head high and work every day.”
Payne, who grew up in Cottage Grove, is one of the eight seniors who are part of a standout class helping to elevate a program to one of its best seasons in recent memory. The breakout started last year when the final victory in an 11-win season came 55-52 in overtime against Eastview in the Class 4A, Section 3 semifinals.
Park lost in the section championship game 66-41 to Rosemount. The Wolfpack said the loss in the section championship has made them hungry to get back to that section title game for a chance for a trip to the state tournament.
“We’ve built a bond for the last three or four years," Weah said about the team's players. "They know what my expectations are, we know what their expectations are. They hold each other accountable, and they are really a tight brethren.”
Stillwater's performance Wednesday was in some ways typical of many this season. Junior Max Shikenjanski, one of the state's leading scorers, finished with 38 points in the Suburban East Conference loss.
But Stillwater (12-11, 6-9) does not have the size of some other rosters they face, including Park with the 6-9 Payne. The conference also includes some of the state's top players.
“At the end of the season, I hope I look back at this as something where we had success," head coach Brady Hannigan said. "With our size, with our players, they compete with some of the best in the state. We have three Mr. Basketball candidates of the top-10 in our conference.”