Another year, another state championship game for Wayzata.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

The second-seeded Trojans, who won Class 4A state titles in 2021 and ’23 and finished as state runners-up in 2022 and ’24, earned a fifth-straight ticket to the state title game by turning back a dogged challenge from No. 3 seed Shakopee on Thursday night, beating the Sabers 59-55 in a Class 4A semifinal at Williams Arena.

This, despite the fact Wayzata trailed by seven at halftime and by four points with 2:46 remaining.

Junior guard Christian Wiggins led the way with 18 points for the Trojans (27-4), who advance to meet Cretin-Derham Hall (29-1) for the state championship at 8 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena.

“We trusted our shot,” Wiggins said of his team’s second-half comeback. “We knew they’d start to drop. We’ve put in the time, we’ve put in the work and this is the stage we’re on.

“So whatever it takes to win.”

It was Shakopee doing those things in the first half. The Sabers finished 8 for 15 (53.3%) from 3-point range to open a 31-24 halftime lead.

Senior forward Luke Wherley finished with 13 points and four rebounds to lead the way in the half.

“We were playing free and not worrying about anything,” said Wherley, who closed with 15 points to lead his team. “That helped a lot.”

The Trojans, though, seized back the momentum to start the second half, jumping on top 36-35 with 13:48 to play after back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Nolen Anderson. A pair of 3s by Wiggins gave Wayzata a 42-39 lead with 11:20 remaining before Shakopee battled back to tie the game on a 3 by sophomore Blake Betton.

The Trojans scored the next seven points to go on top 49-42, but the Sabers didn’t fade from the challenge, surging back to jump on top 50-49 when Wherley hit a layup with 3:25 to go. A 3-pointer by senior Isaac Cordes expanded that margin to four.

But a pair of 3s by junior Isaac Olmstead regained the lead for Wayzata, igniting a 10-0 run in the final minutes that put the game away.

“We try and instill confidence in our guys,” Trojans coach Bryan Schnettler said. “We believe in them. When I’ve seen these guys hit the shots they’ve hit over and over again for years, you just trust that they’re going to make big plays.”

A layup by Cordes cut the gap to 59-55 with 20 seconds left, and the Trojans missed a free throw on the other end, giving Shakopee one more possession with 5.2 seconds to play, but a last-second 3 by Cordes wouldn’t fall.

“When it was a one-possession game down the stretch, they hit their shots and we missed a couple of open looks,” said Sabers coach Jake Dammann, a former college teammate of Schnettler’s at St. Thomas.

“That was the difference in the game.”

Which is why Wayzata now has the chance to play for another state title, one year after a disappointing 72-61 loss to Minnetonka in last season’s championship game.

“We need to do whatever it takes to win,” Wiggins said of his team’s pending matchup with the Raiders. “It’s as simple as that.”