Thriving defensively, Cretin-Derham Hall will again be crossing the Mississippi River for more basketball.
Smothering its opponent early led to a comfortable cushion, resulting in a second half that was never in doubt, and the Raiders beat Tartan 59-45 in the Class 4A, Section 4 final Thursday.
Monteff Dixon scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, Anthony Knight had 15, and Miles Bollinger overcame early foul trouble to net 12.
It’s the second-lowest point total of the season for the Raiders. But it was enough.
“We knew they were going to play Joe Mitchell tight, so other guys had to step up offensively. And then trying to keep Tartan to one shot and out was the biggest thing for us. So getting stops on defense, executing on offense kind of putting a complete game together,” Knight said.
Mitchell, a Division I prospect who averages nearly 20 points a game, had eight.
It’s the third section title in four seasons, and sixth in eight years for Cretin-Derham Hall (24-4). The Raiders lost to East Ridge in a section semifinal last year.
Big school state tournament quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday at Target Center. Brackets are to be announced Saturday.
“It’s fun. I’m excited. I’m short for words,” Bollinger said.
In its semifinal win over St. Paul Central, the Raiders were down 12 early. They had a much better start in the final. Mitchell had five points, and four Raiders scored in a 13-2 run for 25-11 lead.
Playing with a bruised heel, Knight scored with 5.6 seconds left in the first half for a 33-18 lead.
“He’s our senior, he’s our competitor, and he just answered the bell today,” said coach Jerry Kline. “We knew they weren’t going to guard him. … He stepped up. That’s what seniors do in March.”
A 3-pointer by Bollinger made it 41-23 early in the second half, and Tartan got no closer than 14 at the end.
Dixon, a 6-foot-5 junior in his third year of basketball, had just one first-half bucket, but scored 14 of the final 18 Cretin-Derham Hall points, including short jumpers, a scoop, layup and a steal and dunk.
“He’s an animal. He’s tough, he’s big, He was relentless tonight,” Kline said.
Cedric Banks led the Titans (24-5) with 17 points, but Tartan was held to its lowest point total of the season and scored fewer than 60 for just the third time.
“We just overall didn’t play very well,” said coach Mark Klingsporn. “Our defensive game plan was fine. We held them to 59 points on their home court. We just didn’t perform on offense.”
Looking to make the tournament for the first time since 2014, Tartan struggled with turnovers, poor outside shooting and couldn’t get it to the big men inside.
“We played so unselfish, we played so hard. We’re where we need to be and we just played with a lot of fight and a lot of energy,” Kline said.
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