“I felt really, really good about my shot today,” Hassan said. “Every time I shot the ball I felt really confident. It was a perfect time to start feeling good about it.”

Hassan finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists to help lead the Lightning, ranked seventh by Minnesota Basketball News, to the state semifinals. Eastview 6-10 senior forward Jamal Ambrose scored a game-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds. Junior guard Dylan Omweno added 14 points.  

“Our bench guys came in and had great energy and Kayser had great energy,” Eastview senior point guard Kenji Scales said. “For him to step in when we needed, it really helped us.” 

Eastview had beaten Eden Prairie previously this season, 91-78, in the Lightning’s second game, after the Eagles had won the previous six head-to-head matchups.

“We recognized what Eden Prairie likes to do, we prepared every day knowing that the moment was going to be really big and that we had to be calm and collected — take in the moment, but take care of business,” Scales said. 

Senior guard Miles Smith and junior forward Chiddi Obiazor scored 31 of the Eagles’ 51 points. Smith had 16 points. Obiazor 15. 

“We had to close out really hard because they’re volume shooters and shoot really well,” Scales said. “They’re big — Chiddi [Obiazor] — we knew we had to front him, because he’s just so big — he’s a beast.”