Greyson Uelmen and his teammates on the Minnetonka boys basketball team took care of business Thursday night, beating unseeded Eagan 68-45 in a Class 4A state semifinal at Williams Arena.

Now the Skippers — the tournament’s No. 3 seed — are hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to a clash with Lake Conference rival Wayzata for the state title.

Minnetonka (24-6) advances to meet the defending Class 4A state champions — and the tournament’s top seed — in the state title game at 8 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena. The Trojans — who improved to 29-1 with a 74-48 win over fifth-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall in Thursday’s other semifinal — defeated the Skippers 98-87 and 103-88 in their two regular-season meetings.

“I’d say we’re feeling pretty good,” said Uelmen, who finished with 21 points and six rebounds Thursday. “We’re ready. We want (Wayzata) pretty bad. We’re going to be ready for this game.”

Eagan (18-13), which knocked off No. 2 seed Park Center 73-70 in the quarterfinals Wednesday, will meet Cretin-Derham Hall (25-5) for third place at 4 p.m. Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul.

“Our guys played hard,” Wildcats coach Kevin McKenzie said. “The shots didn’t fall for us tonight. We made some mistakes defensively in the first half that didn’t let us stick around until we figured out our offense.”

Indeed, the Skippers took control of things from the start, going up 15-3 early and taking a 33-18 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

Minnetonka finished the first half 13 for 24 from the field. The Wildcats were just 6 for 27.

“They were coming off maybe the biggest win of the season in all of the state,” Skippers coach Bryce Tesdahl said of Eagan’s victory over Park Center. “We knew we had to be ready to not let them build off that momentum.

“We’ve really emphasized in March the first five minutes of each half,” he continued. “We’ve done a great job getting off to great starts, and that gives you confidence on both ends of the floor.”

Senior guards Jordan Cain and Andrew Stefonowicz finished with 14 and 12 points respectively for Minnetonka. Cain had seven rebounds and Stefonowicz added six. The Skippers finished 27 for 52 (51.9 percent) from the field.

The Wildcats were just 17 for 56 (30.4 percent). Sophomore Alex Schroepfer led Eagan with 16 points and five rebounds.

“We know we’re good shooters,” said Wildcats senior Max Buslee, who finished with nine points. “But it’s hard to start off cold and get your rhythm back fast when you’re already down (like that).”

Which is why Minnetonka is headed to the state title game and a third shot at Wayzata.

“We have to start out hot on defense and keep pressure on them,” Uelmen said. “We know them very well. Defense is how we’re going to have to win the game.”

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