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Class 4A state championship: Park Center gets best of defending state champions

By Jim Paulsen, 03/26/22, 9:00PM CDT

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Pirates become third team of the day to win first crown.


Wayzata forward Carter Bjerke (32) and Park Center guard Braeden Carrington (4) went up for a rebound in the second half of the Class 4A final. ANTHONY SOUFFLE, Star Tribune

Park Center coach James Ware was well aware of the talent his team had this season. He wasn’t about to let them waste it.

After a season of practices that his players called “tougher than our games”, the Pirates showed the fruit of Ware’s hard-driving style, upending Wayzata 58-53 in Class 4A championship game Saturday at Williams Arena.

“Everything we do is hard,” Ware said. “We coach them hard, we demand a lot of things from them, we hold them to high expectations. At every turn, they beat those expectations.”

“Every day in practice, we come in the gym, going up and down, they push because they know how good we are,” said guard Braeden Carrington. “There was times when it was like ‘Can we get a break?’ we were going so hard, but at the end the day, it helped us.”

Against Wayzata, the 2021 Class 4A champs, Park Center took a 28-21 first half lead, then withstood every challenge, every run, every attempt the Trojans made to change the outcome.

Wayzata, with its perpetual-motions offense, cutting and screening and passing, presents problems for opponents. The Trojans’ typically make a game-changing run or two, but Park Center had an answer for each one.

They closed the gap to as little as two points three times in the second half, the last time on Drew Berkland’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left, but Leo Torbor’s two free throws with 17 seconds remaining gave Park Center an insurmountable four-point lead. James Spencer’s free throw with 3.7 seconds left provided the final margin of victory.

“It’s definitely frustrating when we know we’re capable of going on a good run,” said Wayzata senior Carter Bjerke. “For sure it was frustrating when we couldn’t get stuff going, but they’re helluva team. They played outstanding.”

Cody Pennebaker, an athletic 6-5 guard, doesn’t often stand out in the Pirates’ star-laden lineup, but he was their best player on both sides of the ball. He made a team-leading five three-pointers, three of them in the first half as Park Center struggled to score inside, added four steals and led the Pirates with 23 points. Ayouba Berthe added 13 for Park Center (31-1).

Wayzata (27-5) got 13 points from guard Hayden Tibbets, the hero of their semifinal victory over Cretin-Derham Hall, and 12 from forward Carter Bjerke

Ware admitted after the game that his own experience in the state championship game in 1994, when his Hopkins team fell to Minneapolis Washburn in the finals, drove his coaching style for much of the season.

“I lost the state championship in 1994. I [only] had two points in that game and we lost by one. I told myself I could have worked harder for those two points,” Ware said. “These guys have heard about failure I’ve had in life so that hopefully they can learn something from it. They keep fighting. I’m super proud of them.”

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Wayzata guard Hayden Tibbits (1) drives to the basket against Park Center forward Ayouba Berthe (1) during the Class 4A championship game Saturday at Williams Arena. (Photo by Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune)

Park Center coach James Ware was well aware of the talent his team had this season. He wasn’t about to let them waste it.

After a season of practices that his players called “tougher than our games”, the Pirates showed the fruit of Ware’s hard-driving style, upending Wayzata 58-53 in Class 4A championship game Saturday at Williams Arena.

“Everything we do is hard,” Ware said. “We coach them hard, we demand a lot of things from them, we hold them to high expectations. At every turn, they beat those expectations.”

“Every day in practice, we come in the gym, going up and down, they push because they know how good we are,” said guard Braeden Carrington. “There was times when it was like ‘Can we get a break?’ we were going so hard, but at the end the day, it helped us.”

Against Wayzata, the 2021 Class 4A champs, Park Center took a 28-21 first half lead, then withstood every challenge, every run, every attempt the Trojans made to change the outcome.

Wayzata, with its perpetual-motions offense, cutting and screening and passing, presents problems for opponents. The Trojans’ typically make a game-changing run or two, but Park Center had an answer for each one.

They closed the gap to as little as two points three times in the second half, the last time on Drew Berkland’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left, but Leo Torbor’s two free throws with 17 seconds remaining gave Park Center an insurmountable four-point lead. James Spencer’s free throw with 3.7 seconds left provided the final margin of victory.

“It’s definitely frustrating when we know we’re capable of going on a good run,” said Wayzata senior Carter Bjerke. “For sure it was frustrating when we couldn’t get stuff going, but they’re helluva team. They played outstanding.”

Cody Pennebaker, an athletic 6-5 guard, doesn’t often standout in the Pirates’ star-laden lineup, but he was their best player on both sides of the ball. He made a team-leading five three-pointers, three of them in the first half as Park Center struggled to score inside, added four steals and led the Pirates with 23 points. Ayouba Berthe added 13 for Park Center (31-1).

Wayzata (27-5) got 13 points from guard Hayden Tibbets, the hero of their semifinal victory over Cretin-Derham Hall, and 12 from forward Carter Bjerke

Ware admitted after the game that his own experience in the state championship game in 1994, when his Hopkins team fell to Minneapolis Washburn in the finals, drove his coaching style for much of the season.

“I lost the state championship in 1994. I [only] had two points in that game and we lost by one. I told myself I could have worked harder for those two points,” Ware said. “These guys have heard about failure I’ve had in life so that hopefully they can learn something from it. They keep fighting. I’m super proud of them.”

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