Photo by Jake Przytarski Marshall’s Bryce Lance shoots a jumper during their Section 2AAA semifinal game against St. Peter on Saturday at Gustavus Adolphus College. The Tigers defeated the Saints 87-59.

ST. PETER – The second-seeded Marshall boys basketball team (27-2) took one giant step closer towards reaching its goal of a Class AAA state tournament berth after defeating third-seeded St. Peter 87-59 on Saturday in the Section 2AAA semifinals at Gustavus Adolphus College.

The Tigers finished the contest with four different players in double-figures and had 10 players record a basket. The balanced scoring effort was one of the keys to their overwhelming success offensively according to Noah Puetz, who led the way with 17 points in the win.

“I’d say we just played as a team,” said Puetz. “We know that lots of guys on our team can score and if we attack and see an opening we’re willing to make the pass. So, I feel like that is why we put up almost 90 points.”

Marshall’s 87-point output was aided by a dominant display of rebounding that culminated in a 27-13 advantage over St. Peter in the battle of the boards. Coach Travis Carroll expected rebounding to loom large in the outcome of the game and came away pleased with the way his team competed for them in both halves.

“I thought our kids did a great job of competing on the boards,” said Carroll. “Coming into this game we knew that rebounding was going to be a big stat. We didn’t make every shot that we took out there, but we were able to create second and third opportunities.”

In spite of the avalanche of success that was to follow, the Tigers got off to an uncharacteristically slow start offensively with back-to-back turnovers on their first two possessions that opened the door for the Saints to take their first and only lead of the game.

Beginning with a pair of made free throws by Bryce Lance, Marshall quickly overcame its sluggish start and went on to build a 17-6 lead highlighted by an alley-oop dunk by Matt Hmielewski from Puetz.

Carroll liked the way his team was able to move past the early nerves and got back to playing their game.

“It was good to get those jitters out of the way and I thought our guys did a good job after those first few turnovers of turning it around in the first half,” said Carroll. “We got a nice run in the first five minutes of the first half.”

After a three-point play the hard way brought the Saints back to within eight points of tying the game at 23-15 following a 9-6 run, the Tigers carried the play for the remainder of the half by outscoring St. Peter 24-10 and held a commanding 47-25 lead at the break.

Marshall’s offense kicked into a new gear when the second half began as baskets by Trey Steinbach, Yahya Black, Lance and Hmielewski extended the Tigers’ lead to its largest margin to that point at 29 points after a 10-3 run. Moments later, a 3-pointer by Hmielewski and a basket inside by Black pushed the lead to over 30 at 62-30.

While the offense continued to wreak havoc early on in the second half, Marshall’s defense shined bright in limiting Bemidji State-bound big-man Wyatt Olson, whose versatility was a cause for concern entering the contest. Carroll praised his big guys for their work in containing him.

“Wyatt Olson does a great job of scoring on the inside, but he’s also their best passer and we didn’t want to turn it into a situation where he was finding open teammates for open threes because they’re a very good three-point shooting team,” said Carroll. “We just asked our big guys to compete one-on-one inside and contest the shots. He’s going to make some of those shots, but at the end of the day we can’t turn it into a situation where they get other guys going for open looks and they get that momentum going on their team. I thought our big guys did a great job of competing and our guards looked to dig on him when he got the ball inside.”

With the game all but decided, Marshall battled through a short offensive lull midway through the second half but rebounded nicely down the stretch in an 87-59 victory.

The win advances Marshall to the section finals where they will take on top-seeded Mankato East on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. After suffering one of their only two losses this season to the Cougars in their previous matchup, Puetz says the key in coming out on top this time around is to remain confident entering the crucial matchup.

“I think we have to come in with confidence,” said Puetz. “We lost the first time by seven but that was in their gym (and) we were missing a couple of guys. So, we need to keep our heads up, come in confident, play some defense and I think we can get the result we want if we can do that.”

Carroll added that valuing each and every offensive possession and limiting East’s runs will loom large in the outcome of the game.

“It’s going to be important to limit the runs that Mankato East has. They’re a very athletic team that gets up and down the floor in transition,” said Carroll. “We need to limit the runs that they get. If they go on a four or five-point run, we can’t turn it into like a 10-15-point run. We need to limit those, and we have to value the basketball. They’re very good defensively and at times we can get loose with the basketball. We need to do a better job of being tight with the basketball and taking care of it and getting shots, because at the end of the day it’s going to be a game of possessions and we need as many possessions as we can get on Thursday night.”

Marshall 87, St. Peter 59

Marshall 47 40 – 87

St. Peter 25 34 – 59

Overall FG percentage: Marshall 60% (33-55); St. Peter 54.8% (23-42)

INDIVDUAL LEADERS

SCORING: Marshall (Abdi 2-2 0-0 4, Aufenthie 1-1 2-2 4, Baker 3-7 3-4 10, Black 4-7 1-2 9, Douglas 3-5 0-1 7, Hmielewski 6-10 2-2 17, Lance 4-7 4-7 14, 8-13 0-0 18, Steinbach 1-1 0-0 2).

REBOUNDING: Marshall 27 (Douglas 6, Puetz, Black 4, Steinbach, Lance 3, Baker, Pochardt, Hmielewski 2).

ASSISTS: Marshall 13 (Lance 6, Puetz 5, Baker, Black 1).