Wayzata 12/2
Kobby Sambrew #11
Prior Lake Boys Basketball vs. Wayzata — Opening Night
Final Score: Wayzata 81, Prior Lake 69
Expectations were sky-high on opening night for both Prior Lake and Wayzata, and the pace matched the buzz. The 2025-26 season for the Lakers varsity team tipped off at 7 pm in the Gold gym on December 2.
The Lakers struck first, trading buckets with the defending Class AAAA champs in a fun, fast first 8 minutes before the Trojans found their groove and pulled away just before halftime.
Prior Lake struck first thanks to Kobby Sam-brew, who muscled in the team’s first bucket of the year on a tough finish inside. The Lakers rode that early energy into a slim lead, and their defense set a tone—Nolen Anderson couldn’t shake free, with Prior Lake contesting triples and forcing him into jump-passes whenever he raised up to shoot. Wayzata countered with Christian Wiggins, who scored in bunches to steady the champs and tilt momentum late in the first half. A closing burst sent the Trojans to the locker room up 10.
The play of the night belonged to Colten Gunderson: a thundering dunk off the backboard from Kolby Thompson that ignited the gym and reminded everyone that Prior Lake has the skill and athleticism to compete with everyone this season. Coming out of the break, the Lakers looked ready to make a run—but the Trojans’ high-octane offense widened the gap. Anderson finally found daylight and started dropping clean threes, powering Wayzata’s lead out to 16 and keeping Prior Lake at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Even so, the Lakers flashed depth and resilience. Trey Theis, Erik Post, Drew Brinkman, Cole Brinkman, and Max Dubore displayed the deep bench Prior Lake will turn to this season, pushing Wayzata on both offense and defense. Gunderson was reliably tough inside, finishing with a team-high 17 points and cleaning up the glass with nine rebounds. Sam-brew added 14 points and five rebounds, Woeser Jenpa chipped 11, and both Ian Wang and Thompson dropped 8 apiece.
While the offense displayed predictable early-season rust, ball movement was a bright spot: Thompson led with 7 assists, followed by Sambrew (5) and Wang (3). On the glass, Gunderson (9) set the pace, followed by Sam-brew (5) and Wang and Theis pulling 4 each. On the Trojans’ side, Anderson closed with a game-high 27 points, and Wiggins tallied 17.
Starters
Wayzata: Isaac Olmstead, Xavien Ivey, Christian Wiggins, Nolen Anderson, Thomas Shunmugavelu
Prior Lake: Kolby Thompson, Woeser Jenpa, Ian Wang, Kobby Sam-brew, Colten Gunderson
Big-picture takeaways: It was a tough assignment out of the gate—Wayzata returns nearly its entire rotation, features two Division I commits, and has another 4–5 players tracking toward D1/D2 ball. The Trojans beat Prior Lake by 26 last season and handed the Lakers their only JV loss, so the measuring stick is real. For Prior Lake, opening-night rough spots showed—too many turnovers and a few defensive miscommunications—but the depth, playmaking, and rising talent were hard to miss. With game reps, this group has the tools to tighten up and trend upward.
Ninth Grade game notes vs Wayzata:
9a lost their opening game of the season 43-62 to Wayzata. Wayzata’s hot shooting from 3 throughout the game was too much for Prior Lake to overcome. The Lakers played hard and had a lot of good looks for shots offensively but couldn’t seem to get enough to fall to compete with the Trojans.
9b lost their opening game 42-49 to a good Wayzata 9b team. A hard-fought comeback fell short in the end. After cutting a double-digit lead down to 5 with a minute to play, Wayzata knocked down free throws and the Lakers could not get ahead on the scoreboard. “Very proud of the fight from our group,” said the Lakers coach.