• TOTINO-GRACE 73, ROGERS 72:  Less than a month removed from Totino-Grace’s 34-14 win over Rogers in the class 4A state championship in football, the two schools met again Tuesday night on the hardwood.

The game proved to be a classic battle between the two teams, as the Eagles held a 73-71 lead on the last possession. Rogers’ Michael Schreiber was fouled with one second left and went to the line for a chance to tie the game. He made the first—and the second. But a lane violation was called on the Royals, negating the basket and giving Totino-Grace a 73-72 win.

The call was a bit out of the ordinary for a lane violation. Typically, a lane violation occurs when a player in a rebounding position enters the lane too early. Since the advent of the three-point line, however, the rule also disallows anyone from outside of the three-point arc to cross that line before the ball hits the rim. Unfortunately for Rogers, one of their players was called for doing just that with the game hanging in the balance.

“It was kind of a bang-bang type thing, but it probably was the right call,” said Royals head coach Joe Belka. “Our player was in violation, but it was very close.”

Belka added that given the circumstances of the game and the impact a lane violation call would have on the outcome, he would have liked the game settled by the players in overtime, not a referee’s whistle.

“It was tough with the circumstances of the game. If he makes it, we go to overtime, if he misses it we lose,” Belka said. “Our player did step over the line, so we have accept it.”

In a game that was back and forth the whole way, the fateful possession for Rogers began with an inbound pass with 4.5 seconds to play. They were able to get a good look at a three-pointer, which was missed but rebounded by Schreiber, a 6-foot-8 center. Despite the call, Belka was impressed by Schreiber’s ability to sink the two free throws.

“When someone goes to the line down two with one second left and makes them both, you’ve got to give them credit,” he said. “I’m sure from a fan’s perspective it was a great game to watch.”

Schreiber finished with 17 points, while seniors Trevor Berkley and Rory Donovan each had 19 for the Royals. Senior Alex Kreuser had 18 points to lead the Eagles, who had four players in double figures.

As for the rivalry between these two schools after last month’s football state championship game, Belka didn’t say there were any motivating factors last night outside of winning a tough basketball game.

“I think there’s a desire to beat Totino for a lot of different reasons. We’ve played them in basketball pretty much every year and we’re about .500,” Belka said. “We’ll hopefully continue the tradition of playing them in our non-conference schedule.”

• BLAINE 61, OSSEO 53: The Bengals used a balanced attack to knock off the Class 4A, No. 3 Orioles. Blaine held a one-point lead at halftime before gradually pulling away in the second half. Senior guard Tanner Schumacher scored 17 points, pacing four players in double figures. Joey Sonnenfeld scored a game-high 20 points for Osseo.

• NORTH ST. PAUL 49, ST. ANTHONY 48: In a back-and-forth game, junior center Hunter Books made two free throws with 15 seconds remaining, giving the Polars a victory over the Huskies. St. Anthony set up its offense for the final shot, but the ball was stolen with 1.6 seconds left. Books led all scorers with 19 points.

• EAGAN 83, MOUNDS VIEW 73: Wildcats senior guard Jameson Parsons scored 32 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in a victory over the Mustangs. Mounds View scored 51 second-half points.

• ARMSTRONG 79, PARK CENTER 70: There still is no slowing down Marquel Curtis. The senior guard scored 34 points, leading the Falcons past the Pirates. It was already his third game over 30 points this season.

• BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY 65, IRONDALE 59 (OT): The Eagles outlasted the Knights in overtime despite senior forward, Bryan Sprang’s 39 points and 14 rebounds. He made five three-pointers. Junior forward Cullen Russo paced three Eagles in double figures with 17 points.

• EAST RIDGE 76, CHANHASSEN 74, OT: Senior forward Dayo Idowu’s basket in the waning seconds of overtime lifted the Raptors over the Storm. Idowu finished with 12 points.