Click photos to view the entire gallery from the game

Trailing 57-53 with less than three minutes remaining in Thursday’s section final, it looked like St. Thomas Academy would have to slowly peck away at St. Croix Lutheran’s lead in order to win. But for the Cadets, regaining the lead took just seconds.

St. Thomas Academy junior guard Jack Thompson knocked down a corner three-pointer to cut the Crusaders’ lead to one. On the ensuing inbounds pass, the Cadets stole the ball, and it ended up in Thompson’s hands. He made a layup, putting St. Thomas Academy in the lead.

In the end, Thompson’s personal 5-0 run was probably the stretch that saved the Cadets’ season. St. Thomas Academy never trailed again, defeating St. Croix Lutheran 63-59 in the Class 3A, Section 3 championship. The win puts St. Thomas Academy in its second consecutive state tournament.

This game was new territory for the Crusaders (17-10). St. Croix Lutheran moved up to Class 3A after being a perennial contender in Class 2A. The Crusaders came into section play as the No. 2 seed and the most likely foe to knock off the defending section champion Cadets.

For most of the game, St. Croix Lutheran looked prime for the upset. The Crusaders started strong offensively by getting the ball inside, using senior big men Adam Arroyo, Jr. and Stephen Kletscher inside throughout the first half to establish their offense.

When Arroyo or Kletscher weren’t scoring, the Crusaders found their guards. St. Croix had four guards with at least nine points on Thursday, including senior guard Aaron Jennings, who had a team-best 10 points in the first half.

“We struggled early to get stops defensively,” said St. Thomas Academy coach Jason Birr. “Arroyo is just so tough. It was even more so with their guards hitting jump shots.”

For the Cadets, trailing at the half has been a rarity. St. Thomas Academy gave up an average of 12 points in the opening halves of its first two section playoff games.

“We had tough competition earlier in the season, but we hadn’t had any in a while,” Birr said. “We had to make some adjustments. It took a couple of possessions, but we did that.”

The Cadets opened the second half looking to pick up their defense after giving up 33 points in the first half. Then, they focused on slowing down the Crusaders offense through strong defense and by drawing Arroyo and senior guard Jack Kuckhahn into foul trouble.

“Our defense was lacking,” said St. Thomas Academy senior guard Sam Vascellaro. “We knew if we could lock up on defense, our offense would take care of itself.”

The Cadets’ offense took care of itself in the form of Vascellaro, who came into Thursday’s game averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game. Though there were times when Vascellaro, a senior, struggled to break through the tight defense of the Crusaders, he helped carry the way by scoring 23 points in the win.

“(Vascellaro) is just so tough,” Birr said. “He does so much that it’s hard to get him off the floor.”

Then Thompson showed up. His five-point swing late in the game was part of a 20-point performance.

Thompson is just part of a veteran-laden group that will play in next week’s Class 3A tournament. The Cadets have seven seniors and 10 juniors on their roster and will look to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish.

“When we went last year, we hadn’t been there in 10 years,” Birr said. “Our goal this time will be to win that first game. Then we can talk about making a run.”

As Vascellaro gets ready for his second consecutive state tournament, he will have more than just his own personal experience to lean on. His sister, Francesca Vascellaro, is a freshman on the Holy Angels girls’ basketball team. The Stars made it back to the state tournament this season and will be playing for the consolation championship on Friday.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to be at her state games so far,” Sam said. “But I’ll be there tomorrow. She’s always great about showing up to my games.”

After trailing most of Thursday’s game, No. 1-seeded St. Thomas Academy rallied back, defeating No. 2-seeded St. Croix Lutheran 63-59 to capture the Class 3A, Section 3 championship for the second consecutive season.

The Crusaders (17-10) jumped out to an early lead in the first half and led by as many as seven points, thanks in part to strong guard play, with three players -- seniors Aaron Jennings, Garett Maag and Jack Kuckhahn -- each notching 10 points.

Senior forward Adam Arroyo, Jr. also contributed with a team-high 14 points, most of which came from the low post.

St. Thomas Academy (18-9) got itself back in the game with strong defense, holding the Crusaders to 26 second-half points.

Offensively, St. Thomas Academy, ranked No. 8 in the last Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, was led by senior guard Sam Vascellaro. He added a game-high 23 points and was the catalyst to the Cadets’ offense.

Junior guard Jack Thompson also helped along the way for St. Thomas Academy by adding 20 points in the win. His five biggest points came late in Thursday’s game when he scored five straight points to take the Cadets from down four points to up one.

With the win, St. Thomas Academy will play in next week’s Class 3A state tournament at the Target Center, Williams Arena and Concordia-St. Paul. Pairings for the tournament will be announced on Saturday.

The MN Basketball Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.