Boys State Basketball: Totino-Grace advances to 3A championship game

Totino-Grace is making its sixth state tournament trip a memorable one.

The Fridley-based private school earned a berth in a boys basketball state championship game for the first time in program history by racing past Mankato East for a 77-39 victory in the first Class AAA semifinal on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. Forward Patrick Bath, a 6-foot-9 junior, scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help power the No. 1-seeded Eagles (24-6). Junior forward Tommy Humphries added 16 points and three assists as Totino-Grace seized control early and wasn’t threatened.

Mankato East (22-9) led briefly with the first points of the game on a three-pointer, but couldn’t overcome Totino-Grace’s length and up-tempo attack. The Eagles compiled nine blocks and had a 52-26 rebounding edge. Senior forward Meer Othow led the Cougars with nine points. Mankato East was 8 of 27 from three-point range in an effort shoot over Totino-Grace’s defense.

In playing for its first Class AAA crown, Totino-Grace awaits its opponent. No. 2 Princeton was facing No. 3 DeLaSalle in the second semifinal. Earlier this season, Totino-Grace recorded a 61-58 victory over DeLaSalle on Dec. 18. The Eagles did not face Princeton during the regular season.