His Minnehaha basketball team holding a slim four-point lead, senior forward Thomas Gedion swooped in and blocked a Perham lay-up, grabbed the ball and scored at the other end.

Converting what Redhakws’ coach Lance Johnson called “the play of the game,” Gedion gave his team a six-point lead it would not relinquish. No. 1 seed Minnehaha Academy beat Perham 53-41 in Wednesday’s Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal at the Target Center.

“That was an awesome play,” Johnson said. “He took two points off the glass and that really energized us.”

Minnehaha Academy (24-6), which won at Perham (23-8) back in November, raced to a 9-0 lead in the rematch and held a 27-24 edge at halftime. Though the Redhawks never trailed in the game, persistence Perham got within two points on two occasions in the second half.

“They are so long and athletic they made it tough for us with their defense,” Perham coach Dave Cresap said. “If we had maybe been a little more patient we might have been able to break them down.”

Patience helped the Redhawks make better offensive decisions and fend off Perham.

“We started passing the ball more and stopped being selfish,” said Gedion, one of four Redhawks who scored seven to nine points. Senior guard Jesse Johnson led with 13 points.

DAVID La VAQUE

1. Jesse Johnson (Minnehaha Academy) - Johnson led all scorers with 13 points on 5-9 shooting. He helped push the Red Hawks away from the Yellowjackets when they just wouldn't go away. The senior guard hit a key 3 pointer when Minnehaha went on a 9-0 to really put the game away. 

2. Kaharri Carter (Minnehaha Academy) - You may have thought Carter would be the leading scorer tonight because he was all over the place. His shooting wasn't on, 3-11 FG's, but he still scored 9 points, 9 rebounds and added a big block in the first half. 

3. Tyler Glines (Perham) - The only Perham player to reach double digit points, Glines score 15 on 5-8 shooting and hit 4 of 7 FT's. Glines, a junior, also pulled down 8 boards and helped push the tempo for the Yellowjackets.

- Pete Heldstab, MN Basketball Hub