MINNEAPOLIS — Midway through the season, Waseca coach Seth Anderson said that coming off a state-tournament appearance in 2024 with key players returning, he knew that it would be a pretty good season again.
But undefeated through the first 32 games, including five postseason victories? He wasn’t so sure.
“I don’t know if there was one specific moment,” he said. “We just kept on getting better and better, and guys fell into roles. It fit really well, and we found a way to play together.
“It was after one of the St. Peter games that their coach said to me,’this might be a state championship team.’”
Waseca fell behind early and made several good runs in the second half, but top-seeded Albany prevailed 70-63 in the championship game of the Class AA boys basketball tournament at Williams Arena on Saturday.
Waseca had to put a lot of energy into Friday’s state semifinal victory over Breck late Friday night, so there was concern about how much fuel was left in the tank less than 24 hours later. Waseca (32-1), which won a state championship in 2021, made just 2 of its first 13 shots, with four turnovers, and fell behind 15-4 after eight minutes.
“We weren’t hitting our shots early,” Damarius Russell said. “Things weren’t going our way, but we knew if we kept playing hard, things would eventually go our way.”
Ethan Hiller’s layup started a 6-0 run, and a few minutes later, Deron Russell, who scored 38 in the semifinal victory, hit three jumpers that pulled Waseca within 23-20 with 3 minutes to play in the first half.
Damarius Russell’s long 3-pointer put the Bluejays on top at 26-25, but Albany was able to regain the lead at 32-26 with a pair of 3-pointers before halftime.
Waseca started the second half with nine straight points, as Damarius Russell made a 3-pointer and converted a steal into a layup. There were four ties before Albany used a 9-0 run to open the margin.
Waseca worked it back to 57-all as Damarius Russell and Deron Russell continued to hit tough shots. It was a one-possession game for the final two minutes, with Albany getting loose for a couple of layups to win.
“When you’re in the state tournament, every team is so good,” Anderson said. “Tie game with two minutes, it’s up to the basketball gods at that point. Our guys gave their best effort, but they made one more play than us.”
Deron Russell ended up with 32 points, making four 3-pointers, and Damarius Russell had 22 points and seven steals.
“It’s all about confidence up here,” Deron Russell said. “I knew I could make any shot I took.”
Deron Russell, Damarius Russell and Carson Ohnstad were named to the all-tournament team. Those three played all but five seconds of three state-tournament games.
“Last year, it was kind of a surprise that we made it to state,” Ohnstad said. “But you could see it in practice, with how hard we worked, we had something special this season.”