Over the years, the Metro West Conference has seen its fair share of strong players and competitive teams, but the 2024-25 season might feature two of its finest teams in a decade.
The top two teams in Minnesota’s Class AAA rankings hail from the conference – Benilde-St Margaret’s (#1) and Orono (#2).
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, it was Orono who made their annual trip to Chaska High School to take on the Hawks. Chaska came into the game with a 5-8 record, having lost some very close games recently.
The Hawks gave the second-ranked Spartans a battle, and the lead changed hands many times throughout, but Orono was able to come away with a victory in the high-scoring game, 87-83.
Orono features one of the state’s top players in senior Nolan Groves, who will continue his impressive basketball (and perhaps even more impressive academic) career at Yale University next year. Groves did not disappoint in this contest, scoring a game-high 48 points.
But the Hawks had plenty of firepower of their own. Senior Jimmy Coddington led the way with 23 points and scored on several possessions for the Hawks in the second half, as the home squad traded the lead with Orono throughout the second frame.
It was a balanced scoring night for Chaska. The team’s leading scorer on the season, senior captain and Northwestern College commit Tray Lenzen, scored 18 and hit a handful of crucial shots throughout. Sophomore Eli Herzog had the hot hand in the first half with three made three-pointers and 10 points total. Junior Evan Atkinson also scored in double digits with 10. Kalin Jochum, Noah Slinde and Tyler Forrest rounded out the scoring for the Hawks on the night, as they matched their season high with 83 points.
Despite the loss, Coddington, one of the team’s captains, saw plenty of positives in his team’s play.
“I thought we played really good team defense tonight,” said Coddington. “Obviously, we didn’t have an answer for Groves, but he’s one of the top rated players in the state for a reason. Being competitive against a team like that will hopefully give us confidence against some really tough teams on our schedule the rest of the season.”
Coddington led the way for the Hawks, and was quick to point out how his team helped him have a successful night.
“My teammates really worked hard to put me in positions for open shots and I was fortunate enough to knock them down in the second half,” he said.
The Hawks, now 5-9 on the season, will travel to St. Louis Park to take on the Orioles on Friday night. They are back home on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to take on the state’s top-ranked AAA team, Benilde-St. Margaret’s.
