New Life Academy beats Spring Grove 51-35 to advance to 1A state title game

A year ago, the New Life Academy boys basketball team made a state tournament trip and finished third in the Class A field.

“It left a sour taste in our mouths,” senior forward Erick Reader said on Friday, March 24.

Things are tasting sweeter these days for No. 2-seeded New Life Academy, which took another step in its state tournament journey following a 51-35 victory over No. 3 Spring Grove in the Class A semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. Senior forward Austin Woolf scored 13 points while Reader added 11 points to go with 15 rebounds to send the Eagles (26-5) into the Class A championship game on Saturday against top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton.

The Class A title game kicks off Championship Saturday at 11 a.m. Four championship games will be played on Saturday and numerous recognition events are planned.

New Life Academy, which extended its current winning streak to 12 games, broke open a halftime tie with a 23-7 burst in bolting to a 41-25 advantage with nine minutes remaining in regulation. The Eagles shot 45.8 percent in the second half while Spring Grove (29-2) shot 27.6 percent in the second half and 28.1 percent for the game.

Junior Jaxon Strinmoen had 15 points for the Lions, who now face Cherry for the third-place trophy.