For the first time in four years, there will be a new Class 3A boys basketball state champion.

That much was secured Thursday afternoon at Williams Arena, when Alexandria Area topped Totino-Grace 73-65 in the state semifinals to end the Eagles’ bid for a potential four-peat.

Third-seeded Alexandria will meet top-seeded Mankato East in the Class 3A final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena.

The second-seeded Eagles went on a 22-4 run to close the first half to stakes themselves to a four-point advantage at the break. It was back and forth throughout most of the second half until a 10-2 Alexandria run put the Cardinals up six with 1:40 to play, and Alexandria was able to fend the Eagles off with free throws from there.

Clemson commit Chase Thompson led the Cardinals with 33 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots, while Mason Witt added 25 points.

Dothan Ijadimbola led Totino-Grace with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Mankato East 64, Orono 62

An Amari Nobles putback bucket with 83 seconds left Thursday broke a tie and ended up being the game winner in the Class 3A semifinals. Neither team scored again.

The fourth-seeded Spartans went to the line with two ticks to play but missed the first free throw, forcing them to have to miss the second.

Ganden Gosch had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who are back in the state title game for the second straight season. They fell in the final to Totino-Grace in 2024.

Orono trailed by 11 with nine minutes to play but clawed back to take the lead on a Grant Hansen 3-pointer with less than five minutes to play. The two teams alternated from there to the finish.

Nolan Groves led Orono with 31 points and nine rebounds, while Brady Wooley had 12 points and 11 boards.

Class A

No. 1 Cherry 89, No. 8 BOLD 57: Noah Sundquist had 32 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead the top seed into Friday’s semifinals.

No. 4 Nevis 58, No. 5 Henning 52: Alex Lester had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Nevis, who led by as many as 19 points in the second half. Nevis will meet Cherry at 12 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena.

No. 2 Dawson-Boyd 69, No. 7 Heritage Christian Academy 46: Brayson Boike had 31 points and eight rebounds for Dawson-Boyd, who led by just six at the break but opened the second half on a 12-1 run to bust the contest open.

No. 3 Red Lake County 68, No. 6 Goodhue 61: Both teams had four players score in double figures, but Will Gieseke added five steals to his 13 points for Red Lake County, who will play Dawson-Boyd at 2 p.m. Friday at Williams Arena in the state semis.

Red Lake County led by 23 early in the second half, only to have Goodhue go on a 25-2 run to knot the game with 7:21 to play.

Goodhue hit seven triples in the second half. Alex Loos had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats.

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