Minnesota State 3A Semis Results and Finals Preview

<h2 class="wp-block-heading"> Mankato East and Orono Fight to the End</h2>   Over and over Minnesota Mr. Basketball Finalist [player_tooltip player_id='1579885' first='Nolan' last='Groves'] drew fouls, 10 to be exact in the second half, and made it to the stripe in the second half where he took 13 free throws. Of those 13 two came with just one second left, when Groves ran down the clock before he made his move. Groves drove, got to the rim, drew the foul but the ball rimmed out. Groves went to the line and  unfortunately for Orono missed the first one down two.    That and this part sums up two most important players for each team, up 7 points 54-47 with 6:56 left in the game 2025 senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1437303' first='Brogan' last='Madson'] picked up his 4th foul. Madson re-entered and the Cougars were down 58-57 with 4:32 left. On Madson's second possession back on the floor he grabbed a rebound, started a fast break and got an assist to [player_tooltip player_id='2424013' first='Dwuan' last='Reliford'], a 2025 senior who scored 8 points.   Overall, both teams struggled to make shots as each team was defending each other much closer. Madson was 4 for 17 overall, Groves was 8 for 20. Groves scored 31 points overall, 11 made free throws and 4 3-pointers. Madson just scored 12 but he handed out 9 assists that produced 21 points for Mankato East.   2026 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1560798' first='Lucas' last='Gustafson'] showed off his deep range and shot proficiency going 5 for 10 on 3-pointers scoring 15 points. His shot making was huge for East, especially in the 2nd half when he made back to back 3-pointers that pushed the East lead to 54-43.   The combination of [player_tooltip player_id='2103251' first='Ganden' last='Gosch'], [player_tooltip player_id='1886972' first='Amari' last='Nobles'], and Madson limited Groves as much as one team could. Gosch and Nobles have good size, length, and strength using that to keep Groves off balance, and with help from Madson on doubles, they didn't give him the open looks and space he had in the last game versus DeLaSalle.   Gosch, a six-foot-five-inch 2025 wing who will play at Minnesota State Mankato led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points shooting 6 for 13 and making 3 3-pointers. Gosch also led the team in rebounds with 10 and handed out 2 assists. Nobles, a six-foot-five-inch wing that played on the Prep Hoops Circuit with [program_tooltip program_id='2075685' first='Minnesota' last='Select'] last summer scored 7, grabbed 6 boards, nabbed 2 steals and blocked a shot.   Nobles at 1:23 secured the game winning basket for East as well with an offensive rebound putback. On the possession Reliford grabbed one of his 5 defensive boards he outlet to Gosch who pushed the ball up the floor. Gosch drove and was blocked by Groves but to the right was Nobles who grabbed the blocked shot in front of Wooley. Nobles went up immediately at the rim for a lay-up to give East a 62-60 lead they'd never give up.   Orono's 2025 six-foot-nine-inch center [player_tooltip player_id='1484016' first='Brady' last='Wooley'] scored 12 points and grabbed 11 boards for the [program_tooltip program_id='2075852' first='Spartans' last='']. East playing 5 out kept Wooley out of the paint defensively and offensively Orono seemed to be keeping Wooley out on the perimeter, especially the 2nd half in an attempt to space the floor. That spacing probably negated from Wooley only shooting one 3-pointer. Wooley showed ability at the top of the offense passing and moving the ball to the right player at the right times.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1572690' first='Chase' last='Thompson'] is the Best Player</h2>   Alexandria was a two man show for nearly the entire game versus Totino-Grace in their 73-65 win Thursday at Williams Arena led by Minnesota Mr. Basketball candidate [player_tooltip player_id='1572690' first='Chase' last='Thompson'] and 2026 left six-foot guard [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt']. Witt's outside shooting pushed Alex ahead early, four 3-pointers to be exact and his 16 first half points along with Thompson's 11 were 27 of the Cardinals 31.   With 9:12 left in the first half Alexandria led 24-13. Over the next 7 minutes Totino-Grace would out scored them 20-2 before 2026 junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2115657' first='Gavin' last='Roderick'] scored on a fast break. Eagles 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1560740' first='Dothan' last='Ijadimbola'], Witt, and [player_tooltip player_id='2126166' first='Jaylan' last='Hynes'] would all score before half to make it 35-31 Eagles.   Ijadimbola showed why he's gotten offered early by P4's like Iowa with his defensive ability on Thompson in the first half really bodying up and using his length to bother Thompson to a 4 for 12 shooting half. Totino also got almost six quality minutes from 2028 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1895712' first='Daniel' last='Zoa'] inside as well. Zoa, six-foot-six-inches, used his longer than height arms to bother Thompson as well when match-up with him in the first half.   In the 2nd half, Thompson took over scoring 22 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor and 9 free throws. Thompson also grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in the half. For the game Thompson stat line reads, 33 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.   The change up in how Thompson was playing really got him going. In the first half they had him posting up and mostly inside while the second half it was more catching on the perimeter, facing up and driving to the rim. The first three possessions of the 2nd half was Thompson driving to the basket right at Ijadimbola. The fourth possession they ran a reverse ball screen with Witt and Witt buried a long range 3-pointer.   Fellow Mr. Basketball candidate [player_tooltip player_id='1574227' first='Chace' last='Watley'] did give it his all for Totino but his shot was just not falling as much as he needed, shooting 6 for 20 in the game as he did score 16 points. Ijadimbola led Totino with 17 points shooting 8 for 15 and really used his strength and quickness to score inside.   [player_tooltip player_id='2126117' first='Malachi' last='Hill'] the 2027 sophomore guard shined again for Totino with his quickness with the ball knifing in Alex's zone in the half-court to free himself for mid-range jumpers, or finding teammates for scores. Hill has just good vision, sometimes too good for his teammates when he'll find them when it doesn't appear he notices them. Hill scored 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting and finished with 5 assists.   Alexandria 2026 junior [player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2115657' first='Gavin' last='Roderick'] struggled in the first half shooting, 1 for 9 together, they stayed engaged napping rebounds, assists and steals. The 2nd half of that engagement paid off with making 4 of 5 shots.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Finals Preview: Will East have Enough to Slow Thompson? Can Alexandria Get Revenge?</h2>   In December Mankato East beat Alexandria in overtime 81-77 at the Breakdown Capitol City Classic in a game Thompson scored 31, [player_tooltip player_id='2118495' first='Talan' last='Witt'] scored 22, and the East trio of Madson, Gosch and Gustafson scored 66 points. Will Alexandria avenge the loss?   We won't say stop, because you're not stopping Thompson, but can they slow him down or limit him? If Mankato East plays Thompson like Groves it'll be another slow, grind out battle with Thompson drawing a lot of fouls (he drew 9 versus Totino). Thompson will have more of an advantage posting up versus East, and we should expect at least occasional double teams.   The [player_tooltip player_id='1437303' first='Brogan' last='Madson'] vs [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] match-up is similar yet contrasting styles of play. Witt is certainly more of a shooter and scorer while Madson will facilitate the open floor they like to play while choosing his spots when to attack.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1CCk9--kCU&ab_channel=And-OneFilms </div></figure>