St. Thomas Academy’s season ended in an 89-77 section semifinals loss at South St. Paul last March.
The Class 3A, Section 3 tournament defeat was the Cadets’ third of the season against a Packers team that finished 28-1 and two points away from a spot in the state tournament.
But the winter of 2022-23 is going much differently for the Cadets.
St. Thomas Academy beat the Packers 56-48 on its home court Thursday to get some revenge over the Metro East Conference rival.
A second half run helped St. Thomas Academy pull away from Metro East Conference rival South St. Paul in a 56-48 victory Thursday at home.
The Packers (10-5, 4-3) led by five points at the half and built the advantage to 31-22 less than two minutes of play later. However, the Cadets (10-5 5-1) took control over the next seven minutes, going on a 19-4 run to lead 41-35 with nine-and-a-half minutes remaining.
South St. Paul would regain the lead at 43-42 with 6:50 left in the game, but the Cadets’ offense continued to push them down the stretch to the 8-point win.
Jack Chamberlain led the Cadets’ offense with 17, and Michael Kirchner added 14 points. Devaun Simmons led the Packers’ offense with 11 points.
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