Boys Basketball, Class AAA semifinal: Totino-Grace 70, Alexandria Area 59
Posted: Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 2:16 PM
Top-seeded Totino-Grace turned back a challenge to derail their journey to a hopeful state tournament defense by using a late second half surge to record a 70-59 victory over No. 5 Alexandria Area in the Class AAA semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Basketball State Tournament on Thursday, March 23 at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.
The Eagles (23-8) used a 19-7 run over the final six minutes to turn what had been a four-point deficit into a path into the Class AAA championship game for the second consecutive season. Freshman guard Pierless Davis ignited the drive with a three-pointer to help send the Eagles to their fifth consecutive postseason victory. In the Class AAA title game, they await the winner between No. 2 Orono and No. 3 DeLaSalle who played in the second semifinal.
Senior guard Taison Chatman scored five points in the defining run and Davis did as well.
Alexandria Area (25-5), which seemingly scored at will in the first in taking a 38-33 lead, struggled to keep pace when the Eagles grabbed the lead for good. Senior forward Tommy Humphries led Totino-Grace with 16 points and junior forward Isaiah Johnson added 15.
Junior forward Grayson Grove scored 11 of his 21 points in the first half when the Cardinals shot 64 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Chase Johnson chipped in 16.
