Boys Basketball 2025: No. 1 Cretin-Derham Hall tops Rochester JM
Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 - 12:48 PM
Top-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall began its quest for what it hopes will be its first Class AAAA crown since 2018 with a 69-57 victory over No. 8 Rochester John Marshall in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday, March 18 at Target Center.
Junior guard Joe Mitchell and sophomore forward Ty Schlagel were a dominant inside-out combination in scoring 16 points each. Senior forward Tommy Ahnemann, a 6-foot-11 Notre Dame recruit, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and six blocks.
Cretin-Derham Hall (28-1) and Rochester John Marshall (25-5) traded baskets for much for the first half and point separation was little. But the Raiders made their move in the final minutes of the first half to create a 35-26 advantage at the break.
The Rockets weren’t able to penetrate that lead in the second half as the Raiders held the lead for nearly 34 minutes of the 36-minute contest.
Cretin-Derham Hall’s pressure defense created 14 turnovers and that turned into 19 points. The Raiders advance to the Class AAAA semifinals on Thursday where they will meet the winner of the second semifinal between No. 4 Maple Grove and No. 5 Apple Valley.
Senior guard Elijah Ladu paced Rochester John Marshall with 15 points and three assists. Senior forward Angok Kucha added 14 points while senior center Deng Lueth chipped in 13.
