The 3 local class AAA section finals were all full house matchups with great crowds on hand. Here are some quick thoughts on those games along with the Czar Insights graphics for each one.
3AAA: #1 De La Salle 65 #2 St. Thomas Academy 46
This game was closer than the final score indicated. Michael Kirchner came out and made his first 5 triples. That allowed St. Thomas Academy to open a 19-11 at the 10:32 mark. De La Salle defense locked down from there as they went on a 20-4 run to end the half. Jaden Morgan with 3 triples to lead that spurt. 31-23 D at the half.
DLS would extend their 8 point halftime lead to 11 early in the 2nd half. The Cadets use a 9-0 run to cut that lead to 2. But they couldn't convert on 4 chances to get closer than that. 43-41 DLS ahead with 9 minutes to go. Cadets only get 1 more field goal. A 20-2 DLS run puts the game out of reach. Nasir Whitlock with 8 of his 16 points and a couple of assists for 3s in that run. Jaden Morgan 4 3s and 14 points. The trademark Islander defense definitely showed up for large portions of this one. Michael Kirchner leads St. Thomas Academy with 26 points. The Cadets started the game 7-12 FG and went 9 of 34 the rest of the way.
4AAA: #1 Totino-Grace 77 #2 Mahtomedi 46
The defending champs were ready to go in this one. They jumped out to an 11-1 lead and then added a 20-0 run to take a 25 point lead into halftime and they cruised from there. Their man to man defense totally took Mahtomedi out of anything they wanted to run. Add in 7 1st half 3s and this one was over in a hurry. 13-28 from deep for Totino-Grace. Biggest lead was 42. Tyler Wagner 5 triples and 15 points off the TG bench. Tommy Humphries 3 triples and 14 points. Patrick Bath with yet another double double of 15 points and 14 boards. Taison Chatman 8 points with a pair of 3s and I had 7 assists for him. Owen Carlson had the 1st 9 points for Mahtomedi and finished with 16. Will Underwood with all 13 of his points in the second half.
6AAA: #2 Orono 66 #1 Benilde-St. Margaret's 62
Despite a rough first half from their star Isaiah Hagen, Orono would open an 11 point 1st half lead. BSM would end the 1st half on a 9-0 run to cut that margin to 2 at the break. Orono would open a 7 point lead only to see BSM make a comeback with a 15-6 run to reclaim the lead with 11:06 left. The Red Knights extended that lead to 58-53 with 5:47 left. Hagen with 4 free throws thanks to a couple of steals. Then add in bonus free throws from Grant Gunderson on an offensive board. That puts Orono back on top. BSM forces a turnover down 1, then misses a front end but gets it back and misses 2 more freebies. All that with under a minute left. Kyle Kallenbach makes 2 freebies to seal the win with 4.1 left.
Youth vs experience down the stretch was huge here. After the 58-53 BSM lead with 5:47 left, the Red Knights turn it over 4 times and miss their last 6 free throws (counting missed front ends as 2). Orono makes 11 of 12 free throws to go with only 1 field goal in that final 13-4 run. Jayden Daisy 16 points to lead BSM. Star soph Jalen Wilson 11 of his 15 in the 1st half but after starting the game with 2 easy post buckets it felt like he'd have a bigger night. Isaiah Hagen with 18 points and 9 rebounds on my sheet to lead Orono. That was with cold 5-17 shooting. Soph Nolan Groves continues to impress with 16 points for the Spartans.
Czar Insights
For details on exactly what the value in the chart mean, click here for the full explanation of Czar Insights.
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