Skippers Come from 22 Down to Win Class 4A Title
March 29, 2008

The Warriors of Henry Sibley High School put the Minnetonka Skippers into a deep hole in the title game for the Class 4A Minnesota High School championship. But not deep enough. The Skippers trailed 33-21 with 3:16 remaining in the first half. However, they closed the gap to 13 at halftime and roared back after intermission for a 68-59 win.

Sibley senior Noah Kaiser spent the night guarding Minnetonka sensation Anthony Tucker and was successful in bottling him up in the first half, holding Tucker to seven points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Warriors forward Mike Bruesewitz scored seven points and had eight rebounds in the first half.

Sibley scored the first 12 points in the game, and Minnetonka did got get on to the board until more than seven-and-a-half minutes had elapsed. The Skippers’ cold shooting continued, allowing the Warriors to extend their lead to 22 points before Minnetonka started its comeback. Skippers guard Andy Burns dropped a three-pointer as time ran out in the half to bring Minnetonka to within 33-20.

In the locker room, coach John Hedstrom told the Skippers to loosen up, that they couldn’t make baskets with their “muscles clenched.” Minnetonka responded in the second half, closing the gap and then taking the lead for the first time, and for good, with 10:49 left on a three-point basket by Tucker to put them ahead 43-42. The surge was part of a 12-point run that took Minnetonka from being down 42-36 to up 48-42.

Sibley hurt itself by not making free throws. The Warriors were 6-for-15 from the line in the second half and 11-for-23 on free throws for the game. Bruesewitz missed all five of his free-throw attempts in the second half and was held to two points after intermission, although he added another five rebounds to finish with a game-high 14.

The Skippers extended their lead to 11 points and then held on in the closing minutes. Sibley guard kept the Warriors in the game with 10 points after Minnetonka had taken the lead, but he had to leave the game after a collision with a Skippers player with 2:13 left.

This was the second state title for Minnetonka under Hedstrom (the other being in 1998), and the Skippers’ third state championship overall.