MADISON, Wis. — Prescott’s state title hopes evaporated in a four-minute flurry of dunks and high-flying layups.

Top-ranked Milwaukee St. Thomas More broke open a close game with a decisive 16-0 run midway through the second half and pulled away for a 68-45 victory over the Cardinals in the Division 3 semifinals of the Wisconsin boys state high school basketball tournament Thursday.

Mason Schommer’s 3-pointer brought the Cardinals within 46-41 with 8:43 remaining. After an exchange of misses, Amari McCottry, a 6-6 senior guard, scored on a breakaway dunk to make it 48-41.

The Cardinals turned it over on their next possession and 6-9 Sekou Konneh turned it into another breakaway jam at the other end. The Cavaliers scored their next 10 points on four layups and a putback. Konneh capped the run by turning another turnover into another breakaway dunk to make it 62-41 with 4:27 left.

“We battled. We went toe-to-toe with them for 26, 27 minutes,” said Cardinals coach Nick Johnson. “We had a couple in-and-outs where we got good looks. We had that one layup where we could have cut it to two, and then they just kind of came in a wave.”

Dallas Wallin and Kobe Russell each had 11 points for Prescott (21-7), appearing in the state tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2018. Wallin, a 6-6 senior, had a team-high nine rebounds.

“I’ve usually got the taller guy in there, but at 6-9, that’s an unteachable, that height there,” said Wallin. “You just try pump fake, get him in the air and get some shots off, but it’s tough to score when you’ve got that size and that ability and that skill there.”

Prescott struggled from deep, making just 6 of 33 shots from beyond the arc. The Cardinals also committed 16 turnovers, which St. Thomas More turned into 21 points.

Konneh finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while McCottry added 18 points and 10 boards for St. Thomas More.

The Cavaliers shot 30% in the first half but 68% after the break on 19-of-28 shooting. St. Thomas More also had an astonishing 25-0 edge in fastbreak points.

“They are so talented,” Johnson said. “They just come at you, and come at you, they push in transition. I thought our kids played great. We had good looks. I don’t have the stats, but I think we were 6 for 33 from three, and we’re a good-shooting team. We just didn’t knock down shots.”

St. Thomas More (28-1) advances to Saturday’s title game against the winner of third-seeded Kiel (28-0) and No. 2 seed Lakeside Lutheran (26-2).

“I thought our guys did a great job of second-half adjustments,” said St. Thomas More coach Tony Mane Jr. “And then coming out in the second half and getting on a roll a little bit. Thankfully we got some stops, and I think that was the biggest thing.”

Prescott trailed 26-23 at the half but pulled within 28-27 on Russell’s drive. McCottry capped a 6-0 run with a breakaway dunk to make it 34-27.

Prescott was within one possession at the half after hitting just 4 of its first 20 shots, including 2 of 12 from deep.

Kyle Cogan hit a 3-pointer to bring the Cardinals within 12-11, but the Cavaliers responded with an 8-2 run, pushing the lead to 20-13 with 4:46 left in the half.

McCottry’s layin put St. Thomas More up 25-15, but Max Monteith and Barrett Temmers answered with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Cavaliers turned it over on a 5-second call playing for a final shot, and Wallin closed the half with a layin to pull Prescott within 26-23.