Kirchner made six three-point baskets. He scored 19 of his career high-tying 28 points in the second half as the Cadets looked more like the high-scoring Mahtomedi machine than the Zephyrs themselves. And he left the St. Thomas Academy gymnasium solid in his conviction.

The Cadets’ victory on Tuesday marked another milestone in a long climb back from a disappointing 1-4 start to the season. St. Thomas Academy won four consecutive games before playing at Mahtomedi on Jan. 10. 

The Zephyrs put a momentary halt to the Cadets’ momentum with a 69-41 victory that left St. Thomas Academy at 5-5 and searching for its footing.

“We were motivated to show that that game was a fluke and that we’re the better team,” Kirchner said after Tuesday’s victory extended the Cadets’ winning streak to nine games and left them just one half game behind Mahtomedi (15-3, 10-1) in the conference race. “And we believe it.”

St. Thomas Academy (14-5, 9-1) began its season turnaround with defense. After allowing 69 points per game through the 1-4 start, the Cadets have surrendered just 53 points per game since. 

Mahtomedi, on the other hand, is an offensive machine. Led by aggressive and sharp-shooting guards Will Underwood and Owen Carlson, the Zephyrs entered Tuesday’s game averaging nearly 82 points a game.

But St. Thomas Academy controlled the pace in the first half and put the clamps on the slashing drives of Underwood and Carlson in the second half in what surely is, to this point in the season, the Cadets’ signature victory.

Underwood managed 22 points and Carlson 19 in Tuesday’s loss, but the rest of the team scored just 17 points combined. And, after scratching out a 31-27 halftime lead, the Zephyrs were outscored 45-27 in the second half.

Luke Hobbs scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half while Michael Thompson added nine points, Jack Chamberlain seven and Andrew Fahning six. 

Kirchner’s 28 points matched his total in the Cadets’ 61-49 victory over Tartan on Jan. 13, just three days after the earlier loss at Mahtomedi. 

Perhaps that was another manifestation of the senior guard’s belief in his team and his teammates.