Section Finals Thursday Night

Ryan Schmidt March 15, 2024 @ 12:57 PM

What a night for section finals around the state of Minnesota. Park Center and Maple Grove battled in a close game throughout 4A Section 5 where Park Center defeated the Crimson 63-58. Minnetonka and Shakopee played for Section 2 4A champion. The Skippers took down the Sabers 78-75 in another close game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1172835' first='Casmir' last='Chavis'], the 2024 guard committed to Washington, was huge down the stretch with help from six-foot-eight-inch big man [player_tooltip player_id='1284106' first='Chiang' last='Ring'] for Park Center. [player_tooltip player_id='1293966' first='Henry' last='Stang'] kept the Crimson in the game with help from [player_tooltip player_id='1617766' first='Keegan' last='Harney']'s outside shooting.   Minnetonka got a monster performance from unsigned 2024 wing [player_tooltip player_id='1284162' first='Jordan' last='Cain'] who had 31 points and fellow 2024 unsigned senior Greyson Uelman who scored 15 points. Sabers senior and top 10 Mr. Basketball finalist [player_tooltip player_id='1288706' first='Jalen' last='Langsy'] kept them in the game with 19 points.   Other 4A games, Eagan beat Eastview 60-42 ending Eastview's cinderella run through sections, Cretin-Derham Hall returns to state after a few years out with a 59-45 win over Tartan, and surprise section winner of Section 7 Coon Rapids was victorious over Forest Lake 65-62.   In 3A action with no surprises in these match-ups, Alexandria dismantled St. Cloud Tech 91-45, Totino-Grace beat Fridley 98-79, DeLaSale beat Columbia Heights 81-56, and Mankato East over New Ulm 67-47. Alexandria, Totino-Grace, DeLaSalle and Mankato East all returnees to state.   In Section 3A a wonderful story for an inner city school Minneapolis South. After losing [player_tooltip player_id='2364192' first='Romero' last='Walker'] the six-foot-eight-inch center to a freak injury, South's season seemed bleak. But, Minneapolis South made it the Section Final and beat St. Thomas Academy.   In the most exciting game of the evening Orono took on Benilde St. Margret in an epic double overtime thriller that had three last second shots. Orono led by 3 with 3.3 seconds left in regulation BSM 2025 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1572691' first='Jaleel' last='Donley'] hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. In the first OT fellow 2025 Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1484016' first='Brady' last='Wooley'] made a last second lay-up to push the game to a 2nd OT. In the 2nd OT, BSM led by one, 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1579885' first='Nolan' last='Groves'] picked up a loose ball after a missed free throw and banked in a game winning 3-pointer from half-court.   Monteff Dixon - The six-foot-five-inch 2025 forward from Cretin-Derham Hall has been a steady leader in the frontcourt for the Raiders all season. In the win over Tartan Dixon led the Raiders in scoring with 16 and grabbed 9 rebounds. Got my first look at Dixon last April at the Comets Shootout and he showcased excellent hands in getting steals and showcased good athletic ability. Dixon is a productive scorer around the basket inside 8-feet.    [player_tooltip player_id='1434055' first='Poet' last='Davis'] - Davis is a 2024 senior guard from Minneapolis South. The six-foot Davis led South to a 21-5 record after a 6-20 record last season. For his senior year Davis has become more consistent from beyond the arc, and has led the charge from the point-guard spot. His a sneaky defender with quick hands.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/FreshCoastHoops/status/1745159562628309164 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1579885' first='Nolan' last='Groves'] - The 2025 six-foot-two-inch guard from Orono had 45 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists in the double OT thriller versus BSM. Groves knocked down 7 of the [program_tooltip program_id='2075852' first='Spartans' last=''] 9 3-pointers including the 50 footer to win the game. Groves has shown incredible consistency this season stepping in as the primary ball handler and scorer with the graduation of Isaiah Hagan.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/streethistory/status/1768463524987117860 </div></figure>

What a night for section finals around the state of Minnesota. Park Center and Maple Grove battled in a close game throughout 4A Section 5 where Park Center defeated the Crimson 63-58. Minnetonka and Shakopee played for Section 2 4A champion. The Skippers took down the Sabers 78-75 in another close game.