Mankato East is one win away from a return to the Boys Basketball State Tournament Class AAA title game – and another shot at its first championship. 

The top-seeded Cougars cruised to a 76-33 win over No. 8 St. Paul Harding in Tuesday’s first quarterfinal game at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. 

***Click the video box on this page to see extended highlights from this game***

East (28-1) raced to a 47-13 halftime lead against a Harding (18-11) program making its state tournament debut.  

Brogan Madson scored 24 points to lead the Cougars, including an 11-point flurry in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half.  

Today’s game was St. Paul Harding’s first ever state tournament appearance. Tobis Williams scored 10 points for the Knights. 

Up next: Mankato East faces Orono in a noon semifinal Thursday at Williams Arena. Harding plays again Wednesday in a 2 p.m. consolation game at Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia University campus in St. Paul vs. DeLaSalle.