Cretin-Derham Hall beats Maple Grove to reach 4A title game

Cretin-Derham Hall’s patience on offense, coupled with its trademark tenacious defense, paved the way to a spot in the Class AAAA championship game following a 54-42 victory over Maple Grove in the semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament on Thursday, April 8 at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Junior guard Tre Holloman had a team-best 18 points and four assists for a Cretin-Derham Hall offense that was disciplined with the ball in passing it around the perimeter while generating layups and close-range jumpers. The recipe sends the Raiders to the big-school championship game for the first time since capturing the crown in 2018. Senior forward Jack Plum added 10 points and senior forward Daniel Montalbano had all nine of his points in the first half.

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The Raiders (18-5) outscored Maple Grove (13-10) 44-24 in points in the paint, and also shot just under 50 percent from the field.

Cretin-Derham Hall built a 29-16 halftime advantage behind nine points from Montalbano and six more from Plum. The Raiders led by as many as 17 points in the first half, many of those baskets coming at the end of a patient offense that resulted in many layups. Cretin-Derham Hall outscored Maple Grove 24-6 in the paint in the first half.

Junior guard Jon Haakenson led Maple Grove with 11 points and senior forward Terence Anthony-Larmouth chipped in 10.