The afternoon's second game from the Target Center saw yet another school bring home their first ever state championship, as the Perham Yellowjackets won a slugfest against the Rochester Lourdes Eagles, 45-37.
The game got off to a bit of a slow start, as the teams went to the locker room at halftime with Perham holding an 18-13 lead over the Eagles. The Yellowjackets outscored Rochester Lourdes 27-24 in the second half to capture the title and conclude a 31-1 season.
Even though the Yellowjackets only lost one game on the season, they had their share of struggles in getting to this point, most notably the loss of junior Zach Gabbard. Gabbard collapsed on the court on January 20 during a game against Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, required a defibrillator on the court to be brought back, and had to be rushed to the hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, where he underwent heart surgery. Gabbard attended both of Perham's first two victories, but was unable to make it to the championship game this afternoon.
Nick Tobkin led the way in scoring for the victors with 15 points, and Jordan Cresap chipped in with 12. For Rochester Lourdes, Chris Eickemeyer led the way with 12.
Congratulations to the Perham Yellowjackets on bringing home the first state championship in school history, and congratulations to Rochester Lourdes on a successful season in their own right.