Call St. Paul Johnson’s talented and tenacious reserves the lieutenant governors.

The second unit played a primary role in Johnson’s 69-62 Class 3A semifinal victory against Waconia on Thursday. Juniors Savion Benton and Saivon Parker and senior Sedrick Clark each logged at least 18 minutes of action. They combined to give No. 2-ranked Johnson (27-3) a 19-5 advantage in points off the bench.

“They mean a lot to us,” said senior guard Jalen Mobley, who led all scorers with 25 points. “If the starters are playing hard and they are playing hard, it’s going to be a good game for us.”

Strong play off the bench made foul trouble for starting center Justus Murphy was no trouble. All three players were at or beyond their season averages for scoring, mitigating the pain of an off-day for Andre Smith.

After struggling in the quarterfinals against Hermantown, Johnson’s second unit heard from coach Vern Simmons during an extended postgame locker room talk.

“We needed those guys to step up and they were a little shell shocked,” Simmons said. “I saw a lot of big eyes. But I told them, ‘It’s just basketball.’”

Inserted into the Waconia game at critical points, Benton, Clark and Parker kept the Governors from squandering a 13-point halftime advantage. The unseeded Wildcats (17-14) cut their second-half deficit to no less than five points.

“Anytime that we made a run they seemed to have an answer,” Waconia coach Pat Hayes said.