DeLaSalle Advances to State Title Game with Second Half Surge
Basketball wasn't like this the last time Princeton played in the Minnesota state high school boys basketball tournament. The year was 1932 and the Tigers lost to Chisholm 20-16 at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse. Thursday Princeton was sprinting up and down the Target Center floor with Minneapolis DeLaSalle. The teams reached 36 combined points less than seven minutes into the contest. The Islanders ultimately won 93-54 to advance to the state title game for the seventh time in the last eight years. DeLaSalle won six straight titles from 2012 through 2017.
With the score tied at 10-10 about four minutes into the game, DeLaSalle went on a 14-0 run to lead 24-10 with 11:24 to go in the first half. Tigers turnovers led to 12 first-half points for the Islanders who also shot nearly 60-percent before halftime. Princeton stayed as close as they did thanks to some offensive rebounds and trailed 42-30 at half. The Tigers were just 5-for-11 on free throws at that point.
DeLaSalle burst out of the locker room with an 8-0 run in the first 90 seconds of the second half for a 50-30 lead. Princeton called time out. The Tigers responded with back-to-back-to-back baskets to make the score 50-36 and leading to a DeLaSalle time out.
Over the next three minutes DeLaSalle went on a 17-0 run to practically put the game out of reach at 67-36 with 10:32 to go. That didn't stop Princeton, who average 84 points per game this season, from continuing to hoist up shots from all angles. But they never got closer than 28 and the game went into running time due to a 35-plus margin for the Islanders, who have won 11 Minnesota State High School League championships over the years.
Jamison Battle, a future George Washington University player, led DeLaSalle with 28 points and four steals. Tyrell Terry, who has committed to Stanford, scored 22 points with 12 rebounds and six assists. The Islanders shot 64 percent. DeLaSalle (26-5) will play at 5 pm Saturday, March 23 for the Class AAA state title against either Waseca or Austin.
Princeton (27-4), who will play Saturday in the third place game, was led by Adam Williams with 21 points. Jon Stimmler has 13 points and 10 rebounds.
All of the state semifinal games are available on KDHL AM 920 and the KDHL app. Check the scoreboard for all the scores and game details.