Heide, a 6-6 junior, had 21 points and 11 rebounds. He was never fully healthy as a sophomore as the Trojans won just 11 of 28 games. The season, Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler said, was a disappointment but not a loss.

“We were a younger team that had some things happen that you just can’t control with injuries and things like that. But we did get a lot better throughout the year,” Schnettler said. “… Physically and mentally especially, we’ve grown up a lot.”

That growth shows mostly on defense. With tall players such as Heide and 6-9 junior Carter Bjerke — who had 20 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday — who can move and shoot like guards and quick and aggressive guards like Eddie Beeninga, Kody Williams and Drew Berkland, the Trojans (3-1, 3-1) have the athletes to make life difficult on opposing offenses.

“Last year, defense was our biggest area of struggle,” Schnettler said. “We scored enough points to win a lot of games, but defensively we just didn’t get the stops we needed.”

Led by Beeninga, a 6-1 senior who turned in his best performance of the young season with 23 points and a staunch defensive effort on Edina’s Sammy Presthus, Wayzata never let Edina get much momentum.

The Hornets (3-1, 2-1) scored the first four points of the second half, closing the gap to four points at 36-32, and appeared to be ready to force a tight contest. But Beeninga, with a pair of free throws, a layup on a strong drive to the basket and an assist, ignited an 8-0 run that stretched Wayzata’s lead to 44-32. Edina never pulled within single digits the rest of the game.

Beeninga’s performance left Berger shaking his head and wondering just how many Beeningas have sprouted off the Trojans basketball tree. 

Brace yourself, Joe. Eddie is the fourth (older brothers Will, John and Jacob already have passed through the Wayzata program) but not the last. John, who recently graduated from MSU-Moorhead, and Jacob, a redshirt freshman at Moorhead, each left the school as the team’s all-time leading scorers. Nick is a sophomore and Max a sixth-grader. 

“He played a great game tonight,” Schnettler said of Eddie. “On both ends of the floor, he was great.”

The Trojans are showing this year what many expected a year ago. Great talent and great depth. Heide and Bjerke are both Division I recruits and consistent players, and will always get their share of points and rebounds. But the supporting cast is what leads to the expectations the Trojans continue to bear. Tuesday, it was Beeninga’s turn to shine. The next game it could be Williams. Or Ryan Harvey. Or Berkland. Or someone like sophomore Hayden Tibbits, who had five points as the ninth player off the bench against Edina.

Brady Helgren, a 6-9 junior, had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets. Junior guard Gabe Jobe also scored 20 points and Presthus and Marcus Crawford each scored nine.

Berger called his team’s first loss of the season a learning experience.

“I’m glad we’ve got this on film,” Berger said. “If we want to be at this level of competition, this is what we’ve got to go up against. We’ll get better for it.”