AJ Kennedy walked off the Park basketball court for the final time visibly choked up.
Midway through the fourth quarter, fellow seniors Tayvion Stewart and Kaeden Callais let their heads fall when it became obvious the game and the season were lost.
It was a hard loss for Park and a devastating way to go out for the Wolfpack seniors who provided so many wins and thrills for the Wolfpack fans this season.
The sixth-seeded Eastview Lightning shocked the home-court Wolfpack in an 87-67 upset victory Wednesday in Section 3AAAA boys' basketball.
The Lightning came into the game with just four wins in 26 games this season, but that won-loss statistic didn’t even seem real as the Lightning put on a dominating performance in the 20-point win.
Park trailed early, 13-16, 13-22 19-27 and 36-27 at the half. The Wolfpack put together back-to-back baskets to open the second half and for a fleeting moment it looked like Park might get back into this one. But it was not to be. Eastview reasserted itself, built the lead back to 10 at 44-33 and little by little added to the margin the rest of the night. When the clock hit 9:48, Eastview had a 60-38 lead, and this one was effectively over.
Park finished the season 13-14.
“It’s been a fun season,” said Park head coach Mike Weah. “This group was not expected to get a lot of wins this year, not expected to be that great. I think right now they don’t realize it but they beat a lot of odds and they gave a lot of people hope. When you have a group like we had, a bunch of small guys running around and are just scrappy.
“Those are the types of guys that the kids and the crowd can look to on the court and say, “I can be like that one day. Be that player.,’” Weah continued. “Like an AJ shooting bombs out there. Like I can do that. Look at Tay playing defense, I can do that. Look at Ant, I can do that. That’s what this team was about giving people hope and they did that.”
In the other quarterfinals Wednesday, Eagan edged eighth-seeded Bloomington Jefferson (5-22) by a 63-60 score, Rosemount (10-17) walloped fifth-seeded Hastings (14-13) by a 74-45 count and second -seeded Apple Valley got past seventh-seeded Burnsville (1-18) with a 65-62 win.
In Friday’s section semifinals, Eastview (6-22) continued its surprising run with a 75-63 win over crosstown rival Apple Valley (14-14), while Eagan (16-12) topped Rosemount (10-18) 77-63. Eagan and Eastview play Thursday for a spot in the state tournament.
In the Park-Eastview game, the Wolfpack had major trouble hanging defensively with Eastview’s 6-8 forward Jon Mekonnen and 6-7 forward Nolan Segner as the pair combined for 51 points. The Lightning proved adept at both hitting from the outside and muscling their way inside for easy baskets.
Park’s offense was fine, but the defensive stops proved elusive.
Kennedy led Park with 21 points. Stewart had 20, Callais and junior guard Anthony Giadyu 11 each.
The departing seniors will be dearly missed, Weah said. “They’ve been nothing short of great for us in this program all three, four years that they’ve been here. Look at a kid like AJ. AJ is probably 5-7 on a good day and look at how he holds his own on the court every single night. It started last year when we said we needed a spark off the bench, and he came and he gave us that spark and he’s never not brought it. He brings it ever night.
“Having Tay-Tay, Tay was in the gym for some of those days when we had the other group where we had a bunch of big guys running around. Tay was that little freshman, sophomore that was just there watching everything and knowing that one day he has to go out here and be a leader. I couldn’t have asked for a better season from him than what he gave us this year. He stepped up huge.
“Kaeden Callais, Kaeden, if you would have seen him as a freshman to what he is now, Kaeden is one of those kids that still has so much potential and he can probably play at the next level if he continues to keep working and get stronger. He was guarding team’s best players every night and still be able to do well for us on offense. Their leadership has just been awesome this year. It’s one of my favorite groups to ever coach.”
