State title comes back to The Burn

PREGAME

Mankato West is 29-1 on the season with their only loss coming at the hands of Eden Prairie and a big reason for that loss was that West point Derrick Cattrysse was sitting with an ankle injury…It's very possible that West could win state and have just Cattrysse go on to play college basketball next year because so many of these players are signed division two football players…Minneapolis Washburn was the preseason number one this year and they come in at a record of 25-5. Their five losses were to Johnson, Hopkins, Wayzata, Edina, and Osseo…Fifteen years ago Minneapolis Washburn won the state tournament. This is their first state appearance since…West is making their fifth state appearance in school history. The last time was 2004 when the Scarlets won it all…

FIRST HALF

Ra'Shede Hageman has a serious size advantage over Mike Richter in the post…Cedric Martin scores twice slashing in transition and both times he took a bump and still finished. Is West physical enough to stay with Washburn?...Hageman goes by the defender in transition with a dribble behind the back in stride and that got the crowd to its feet. He missed the lay-in but Ced followed it up for two more points. West calls a time-out and you have to love Ra'Shede going to the sideline upset as his teammates were still wanting to give him love for the move but this competitor was furious with himself for missing, 9-4 The Burn…

Washburn continues to take West misses and fly the other way with them. Martin took a rebound and pushed the other direction to draw a foul and make two free throws…West is trying to do to much one on one and that's just not going to work against a team as quick and physical as Washburn. More ball movement and more cuts are needed…12-6 Mpls…The officials have allowed this game to be extremely physical limiting whistles…West needs Ray Teachout to create offensively as he's the only West player quick enough to beat a Miller off the dribble consistently. That is if West continues to try and score one on one…Great cut by Aaron Richter and he caught, turned, and kissed a short jumper off the glass. West is better off in this game trying to score off of ball movement, sharp cuts, and using screens effectively…Cattrysse has very quick hands that have stripped Washburn players several times already…Great spin move to jump hook by Hageman was made. Ra'Shede has about 65 pounds on the guy guarding him but is just as quick which is amazing, 18-10…West is moving the ball much better but know they are struggling to finish shots and every miss is outleted fast to streaking Burn players and Martin scored in this fashion once again to make the lead 23-11…

Thinking back to two Decembers ago I watched Crosby-Ironton pick apart the Washburn defense like vulchers at a kill. I have a lasting image of Washburn coach Reggie Perkins being as frustrated as a coach can be because his kids just did not get the concept of team defense. Fast-forward to the state tournament and the improvement in these kids defensively is drastic. Obviously they bought into the concepts of what needed to be done and it's a big part of why they are walking into he half with a 25-11 halftime lead. Excuse me, Cattrysse just hit a big three-pointer for West, the halftime lead is 25-14…

SECOND HALF

A triple by Teachout gets the Scarlets in a grove as they score on three straight possessions to cut the lead to eight points at 29-21….Hageman has gone to work in the second half scoring three times on the block including a pretty spin move that was finger rolled in…West has found their rhythm and the Red portion of the audience is going bonkers. Richter gets a putback, Teachout hits another three, and then Preston Brunz drops a triple that had the MW bananas going bananas. Lead is a field goal at 31-29…Burn jumps back up as the physical nature of Martin and Hageman allow them to successfully fight for loose balls to score…Game is getting chippy as we have Nick Smith shove Cattrysse and Derrick took a fake dive to the ground pretending he was in pain. Then the refs have to talk to Dylan Hale and Teachout about their jostling for position…

Aaron and Mike Richter have each cut to the hoop for recent scores and the Washburn defense is starting to get tired…Huge three from Hale and that's only his second field goal of the day…Martin is handling the ball and he just went from the upper wing to the hoop with two dribbles and then he soared through the air to finger roll. Ced's attack was completed in a heartbeat and he closed like a shark going in for the kill. Martin scores again on the run out and I think people forget to talk about his speed when they speak of his ability. This is an extremely fast athlete at 6-foot-3…Hageman makes two free throws and the Washburn crowd goes bonkers again, 44-38 Washburn…Teachout hits a three to make this a three point game and then Hale throws a ball out of bounds on a risky pass. Late in the game now Dylan has made a couple interesting choices and now he has to go to the trainer limping off the floor….Hageman makes more free throws and its 46-43 with just under four minutes left…

Martin sprints out for a basket and then on defense he gets tied up with a Richter. While they are tied up the other Richter was behind Cedric and he kicked back at him so the other Richter shoved him and Ced was rewarded with free throws. Interesting and sneaky and made Miller free throws is the result…Big block from Martin who then pushes the ball the other way and DeAaron Hearn scores, 51-43 with 90 seconds left…Cattrysse attacks to score and a quick timeout is called, they have to foul…Washburn makes all the needed free throws down the stretch and they finished strong winning the 2009 state title for class AAA…58-45…Oh and we have a mascot, cheerleader, and player state championship dance party ala the Burn…The tournament officials gave West the first place trophy on accident, whoops. That was switched quick…Not to bad for the Scarlets, several of these kids won a state football title and then picked up second in hoops…

Martin is the game high scorer with 23 points on eight of 12 shooting from the field and seven of nine from the foul line. He also totaled ten rebounds. Hageman made five of 13 shots but eight of ten free throws for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Aaron Richter led West with 18 points and six rebounds.

All tournament team is Trey Scott and Sean Jensen of Spring Lake Park, Dion Suggs-Young and Mike Talley of St. Paul Johnson, Derrick Cattrysse, Ray Teachout, and Aaron Richter of Mankato West, and Dylan Hale, Cedric Martin, and Ra'Shede Hageman of Minneapolis Washburn.

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Click here for post-game audio with Ken Lien and Michael J. Much.