Minneapolis DeLaSalle has already won a state record six straight boys' basketball championships. They opened pursuit of their seventh in a row with a solid 90-63 win over Hermantown Wednesday at Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota. The unseeded Hawks jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead by hitting their first three shot attempts, but the top-seeded Islanders quickly erased the deficit and left little doubt of advancement to the state semifinals Thursday at Target Center.

DeLaSalle went ahead 9-8 about three minutes into the game. Hermantown was still within 22-18 midway through the first half. The Islanders outscored the Hawks 24-10 over the next nine minutes to take a 46-28 lead into the break. DeLaSalle dominated inside with a 32-8 scoring advantage in the first half. The Islanders also showed off their speed by outscoring the Hawks 33-6 on fast break points for the game.

Gopher recruit Gabe Kalscheur scored 21 points on his future home floor and handed out six assists while grabbing three steals. Tyrell Terry scored 14. Sage Booker and Jamison Battle had ten apiece. DLS shot 59-percent. The Hawks hit 53-percent of their shots but turned the ball over 20 times to just eight for the Islanders. DeLaSalle outscored Hermantown 22-9 in points-off-turnovers. Peter Soumis led Hermantown with 15 points. Noah Soumis had 14 and Kevin Bauman added 12 off the bench.

DeLaSalle (25-4) advances to the Class AAA semifinals Thursday at 12PM at Target Center. The Islanders are appearing in their 23rd state tournament since joining the Minnesota State High School League in 1975. The have won 11 state titles over that time. Hermantown (14-16) is at their second state boys' basketball tournament and will play in the consolation round Thursday at Concordia-St. Paul.

KDHL radio is in its 70th year of baseline-to-baseline coverage of the state boys' tournament. Download the KDHL app to keep up-to-date with the latest games and news.

 

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