Trailing late in the game, Minnehaha Academy rolled the basketball up the court to save precious seconds in the Class 2A, Section 4 championship. But St. Croix Lutheran senior Trenton Krueger had other ideas.

Krueger dived to the floor and pounced on the ball. He managed to pass it to fellow senior Ade Murkey, who raced up the court for an emphatic dunk that provided a highlight finish to the Crusaders’ 81-67 victory Friday at St. Paul Washington.

Thanks to the efforts of the two Crusaders leaders, St. Croix Lutheran is going to the state tournament for the second consecutive year.

“I’m a little bit in shock, because not a lot of teams in 2A get to go back-to-back to state, so it’s a blessing, to be honest,’’ Murkey said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

Murkey scored 25 points and Krueger added 24 in a tight, physical contest that was close until top-seeded St. Croix Lutheran (28-2) pulled away in the final six minutes of the game.

Both teams ran the floor hard and sent players screeching to the basket. 
The resulting foul calls had both teams in the bonus less than 10 minutes into the first half.

The Crusaders led 36-33 at halftime and used a 17-2 run in the second half to put the game away.

Minnehaha eighth-grader Jalen Suggs tried to match St. Croix Lutheran’s two seniors with 29 points of his own for the second-seeded Redhawks (22-7).

“We were able to get a string of stops together, and then we just got the ball in the post and we were a little bit more patient with our shot selection,” St. Croix Lutheran coach Jay Wedland said. “We were able to knock down some free throws that we had missed early on and we were able to widen that gap a little bit.”

Benjamin Gotz is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.

Senior guard Ade Murkey scored 26 points and top-seeded St. Croix Lutheran defeated second-seeded Minnehaha 81-67 Friday in the Class 2A, Section 4 final. The victory gives the Crusaders a state berth for the second consecutive year.

The Crusaders scored nearly all of their points in the paint in a tight, physical contest at St. Paul Washington High School that featured plenty of fouls called on each team.

The teams took less than 10 minutes in the first half to put each other in the bonus. Senior forward Trenton Krueger added 23 points for St. Croix Lutheran largely by muscling his way inside.

Eighth-grader Jalen Suggs did his best to try and will the Redhawks to a victory, driving and shooting his way to 29 points.

Check back later for more on the game.