As far as section finals go, this one was more matter-of-fact than dramatic — and that was just fine with the Albany boys basketball team.
The Huskies once again made St. Cloud State University’s Halenbeck Hall feel like home, winning their third straight Section 6AA championship in style March 14 with an 82-42 victory over Spectrum in front of a loud and pro-Albany crowd.
Their reward is a trip to the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Boys Basketball State Tournament. The 2023 state champions, who placed third last year, played Pelican Rapids at 6 p.m. March 18 at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Quarterfinal games were bumped from the usual Wednesday spot due to a Minnesota Timberwolves game at Target Center.
The state tournament trip will culminate a three-year stretch not many programs experience.
“Honestly, I never thought I’d get to this point in my high school career,” said Zeke Austin, an Albany senior who scored a team-best 23 points. “But I’ve come a long way with the help of my teammates, coaches, dad and mom. It feels so good being my last year, but we’ve still got more work to do.”
Spectrum (22-8) was a surprise entrant in the section finals, upsetting second-seeded Mora and third-seeded Sauk Centre in its previous two games. The Sting had no such success against an Albany team seeking its second state title in three years.
Albany head coach Cory Schlagel, who has led his program to a 92-4 record the past three seasons, admits to never envisioning success at this level when the 2022-23 campaign began.
“You never think like that,” Schlagel said. “We’ve just had some really good players come through our program, and they come to practice and work. Our best players are the ones who come in and are working really hard. They allow me to coach them and hold me accountable, but that also raises their game.”
The Sting stayed close early, but a 13-point Albany run after the game was tied at 13 eight minutes in proved to be the difference. The Huskies outscored Spectrum 29-9 heading into halftime.
There was little drama thereafter. Albany’s familiarity with big-game surroundings likely played a huge role in the mostly stress-free win.
“It’s a great feeling, and I’m happy to be back (at state),” said Sam Hondl, a senior Huskie who was 9 of 15 from the field and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. “Our experience helps us so much.”
The team’s elation was likely summed up best by senior Elliott Burnett, who had a seemingly permanent smile after a 17-point performance that also included seven rebounds and seven assists.
“Being my senior year, not playing basketball in college and knowing my competitive basketball career is over makes it more special,” said Burnett, who is committed to play baseball at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. “This group of guys — we’ve been playing together a very long time, since fourth grade 3-on-3. We’re just used to each other.”
SPC 22 20-42
ALB 42 40-82
Albany results: Austin 23 points (6 assists), Hondl 18 (8 rebounds), Burnett 17 (7R, 7A), Bennett Hylla 5, Ashton Olson 5, Ethan Meyer 5, Braeden Justin 3, Jake Buttweiler 2, Cody Terwey 2 and Lucas Goebel 2.
Albany 96,
Holdingford 64
Hondl, Austin and Meyer combined for 83 of Albany’s 96 points in the section semifinals against Holdingford March 12 at St. John’s University in Collegeville.
The Huskies won 96-64. They led 50-36 at halftime.
Hondl scored 33 points, while Austin and Meyer added 30 and 20 points, respectively.
Albany’s biggest lead was 34 with just over a minute left in the game.
The Huskies made 60.3% of their field-goal attempts, including 42.9% from 3-point range.
HOL 36 28-64
ALB 50 46-96
Albany: Hondl 33, Austin 30 (7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals), Meyer 20 (9R), Hylla 8, Justin 3, Olson 2 and Burnett (7A).
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