Photo by Samantha Davis: The Wabasso boys basketball team huddles in a timeout in the second half of the Section 3A North subsection championship against Central Minnesota Christian Saturday night at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Rabbits fell to the Bluejays 90-64, and conclude their season 26-4 overall.

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MARSHALL — The No. 3 Wabasso boys basketball team’s memorable season came to an end Saturday night with a 90-64 loss to top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian in the Section 3A North subsection championship at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Rabbits conclude the year 26-4 overall, and will graduate five seniors.

The Rabbits faced a 14-point deficit at halftime, and although getting some good looks to fall, CMCS’s offensive power and pressure was ultimately too much to halt and overcome. Wabasso faced turnover troubles throughout the night, while the Bluejays continued making their shots.

Particularly, CMCS junior 6-foot-7 forward Asher Wieberdink had 22 first-half points and continued to be a force in the paint on the defensive end. The Bluejays also held Brayden Guetter and Caden Frericks to single-digit scoring, who are two of Wabasso’s primary playmakers.

Jayden Remiger opened the second half with a 3-pointer, just as Drew Kemp did the same a few minuftes later to bring Wabasso within 55-39 with just under 14 minutes to go.

Kemp performed well at the perimeter throughout the night, finishing with a team-high 16 points on 4 of 6 shooting from deep.

Trying to get some Rabbit momentum going, Tavyn Larson drew a charge while Frericks attacked the basket on the other end to also draw a foul, making one of his free throws.

Yet, CMCS would often find a quick response and return the favor anytime Wabasso would get a shot to fall to continue pulling away the remainder of the game.

Kemp made another 3 with 10:45 to go, but a Bluejays layup gave them back a 20-point lead, 63-43.

Leopold subbed out his seniors with a few minutes remaining, while also letting center Josh Timm finish out the game.

Wabasso and CMCS initially got off to a 12-12 start, with both teams seeing efficient production from the perimeter and inside.

Guetter also had 6 of the Rabbits’ first 9 points, but CMCS attempted to lock him down as the half went on and contested his shots heavier, limiting him to 8 first-half points and didn’t allow him to score in the second.

Guetter is Wabasso’s tallest player at 6-foot-7 and has helped lead the scoring front this season using his length.

Wabasso played some zone defense coverage and light full-court pressure, but the Bluejays caught the hot hand from the 3-point line while forcing a string of Rabbit turnovers to begin pulling away to as much as a 17-point lead, 44-27.

The Bluejays went into the break with a 47-33 halftime lead.

CMCS was last ranked second in the state in the final regular-season coaches polls, and entered Satruday 27-1 on the season. The Bluejays’ last loss came nearly two months ago on Jan. 10 to Class 2A No. 5 Minnehaha Academy.

The Maroon and Gold travelled well on Saturday, packing the stands at SMSU and made its support known. Following Wabasso’s semifinal win over Dawson-Boyd on Tuesday, Guetter expressed his excitement in the team getting the opportunity to play at SMSU.

Setting the winner culture at Wabasso

Wabasso has had an impressive past two seasons under Scott Leopold’s leadership, and has been loaded with talent between height, sharp shooters and on defense in its rebounding effort.

The Rabbits have spent a majority of this season either state-ranked in the top-10 Class A coaches poll, or have been receiving votes. They also won the Tomahawk-Valley Conference championship this season, and started the year winning their first 14 games straight.

Wabasso finished 5-22 overall in the 2023-24 season, but the team and Leopold turned things around and were 10-wins better last season, going 15-12. Fast forward another year, and the Rabbits added another 11 wins to this season’s campaign, 26-4.

Notably this season, Frericks broke the program’s single-game rebounding record with 34 against Minneota in the section quarterfinals, then took the single-season rebounding record in the semifinals against Dawson-Boyd where he finished with 27. He finishes this season with 498 rebounds, and the previous record was 475 set by Tanner Bock in 2013-14.

Wabasso will graduate Guetter, Remiger, Avery Eis, Larson and Timm.