Ade Murkey spent the first half in foul trouble, the shots wouldn’t fall, and when the momentum finally swung St. Croix Lutheran’s way, it was too late. 

Braham had all the factors to stage an upset of the top-seeded Crusaders in Class 2A, and the fourth-seeded Bombers took advantage.

Behind four players who scored at least 17 points, Braham defeated St. Croix Lutheran 86-77 on Friday to advance to the state championship.

Braham did it despite St. Croix Lutheran (28-3) going to a full-court press and cutting into what was a 17-point lead in the final five minutes. Murkey led St. Croix Lutheran’s frantic comeback attempt and finished with 26 points, including a one-hand putback dunk with a minute left that left the Target Center crowd in awe.

But Braham learned from its 86-75 loss to the Crusaders in December and held on.

“They’ve seen all that stuff,” coach Jeff Eklund said. “Ade Murkey’s putback dunk, that’s ‘SportsCenter’ material. We came over to the bench (and said), ‘That’s only two points, guys. That’s only two points.’ ”

Braham (30-2) won by controlling the interior and getting reliable scoring from a bevy of options. Chris Olson led the team with 24 points, Ryan Larson scored 22 and John Larson and Alec Olson each scored 17.

“They fought hard,” St. Croix Lutheran coach Jay Wendland said. “They got the tempo they wanted at first, and they just continued to push and push through any sort of run we made.”

First report

Ade Murkey spent the first half in foul trouble, the shots wouldn’t fall, and when the momentum finally swung St. Croix Lutheran’s way, it was too late.

Braham had all the factors to stage an upset of the top-seeded Crusaders, and the fourth-seeded Bombers took advantage.

Behind four players who scored at least 17 points, Braham defeated St. Croix Lutheran 86-77 Friday at Target Centerto advance to the state championship.

Braham did it despite St. Croix Lutheran (28-3) going to a full-court press and cutting into what was a 17-point lead in the final five minutes. Murkey led St. Croix Lutheran's frantic comeback attempt and finished with 26 points, including a one-hand put-back dunk with a minute left that left the Target Center crowd in awe.

But Braham (30-2) did enough to fend off the run, led by 24 points from Chris Olson, 22 from Ryan Larson and 17 each from John Larson and Alec Olson.

The Bombers will play for the state title Saturday at 1 p.m. at Target Center.

Check back later for more on the game