March 26, 2023 at 12:29 a.m.
State champions!
Albany takes down Minnehaha for first championship
The Albany boys’ basketball team are state champions.
A team that started the season with lofty goals backed it up in the way the way they did all season, getting points from nearly every position while taking advantage of a relentless defense that perhaps does not get enough attention. The Huskies defeated Minnehaha Academy 72-65 Saturday for the Minnesota State High School League Class AA championship at Target Center in Minneapolis.
It was the first state title for the Albany boys program, which was making its fifth state appearance and first since 2015. Minnehaha Academy, which upset top-seeded Holy Family Catholic in the semifinals, has won four state title since 2017 while producing top-five NBA draft picks.
The Redhawks impressive resume mattered zero to the Huskies, who finished 32-1.
“I’m a little bit in shock right now,” Albany head coach Cory Schlagel said. “The season is a grind. This group is tremendous to work with. They work hard and it paid off. This was the culmination of a perfect storm.”
Not surprisingly, Albany had four players in double figures. The Huskies make it nearly impossible for opposing defenses to focus on one player – one of many reasons they celebrated with a title trophy.
Senior Tysen Gerads, a Minnesota State-Moorhead signee, led Albany with 19 points. He also had eight rebounds for Albany, which had a 39-26 edge in that category.
Senior Ethan Borgerding had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomores Zeke Austin and Sam Hondl sored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Huskies. Albany shot 24-for-48 from the field while limiting Minnehaha to 26-for70 (37%)
“This has been our goal since the season started,” Gerads said. “For it to come true, it feels so good. It was our goal to win state. I’m not sure anything else thought we could, but we did.”
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