Top-seeded Totino-Grace overcame a hot start from fifth-seeded Alexandria and took a 70-59 victory Thursday in the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament semifinals at Target Center.
Totino-Grace surges past Alexandria and into Class 3A boys basketball final
The top seed Eagles trailed at halftime but shot their way out of upset range in the second half.
By Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
March 23, 2023 at 7:23PM
The Cardinals (25-5) made over 60 percent of their shots, including 57.1 percent on three-pointers, to take a 38-33 lead into halftime.
"[Totino-Grace] is going to get the best shot from everyone. So they're going to give you their best shot," Cardinals junior Grayson Grove said. "We were all ready. We were locked in. We came out hot."
The second half was a completely different story as the Eagles (23-8) outscored the Cardinals 37-21 and made 68.2 percent of their shots. The Cardinals' shooting percentage dropped to 41.2, 20 percent from beyond the arc, in the second half.
"Defensively, we guarded a lot better," Eagles senior Tommy Humphries said. "Also, the [defense] they were playing, we started to figure it out. Once we started to figure it out, we were like, 'OK, we got this.' "
Humphries sparked the Eagles in the second half with three three-point plays. He finished with 16 points and five rebounds.
Taison Chatman, committed to Ohio State for college, put the Eagles ahead for good with 5:46 left, and he finished with 12 points and nine assists. Patrick Bath had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Isaiah Johnson had 15 points.
Grove led the Cardinals with 21 points, and Chase Thompson had 16.
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Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
