From outside the collegiate 3-point line on the right wing, Chace Watley lobbed the perfect pass to the perfect recipient.

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu extended to catch it with his right arm before powering the wing forward and slamming home the orange orb.

It is the kind of basket you might see on a certain four-letter sports network’s top plays.

The highlight-reel slam with about six minutes to go was part of the key run that let Totino-Grace pull away from Mankato East for a 73-64 win in the Class 3A state boys basketball final Saturday at Williams Arena.

That’s three straight titles for the private school in Fridley.

“It feels like the work we did all year, it really validates it,” said Johnson-Arigu, a University of Miami commit. He finished with 25 points and added 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Eagles (27-5).

But it’s the dunk that will be best remembered.

“We run that a lot throughout the season. We just drew it up and he threw a good pass and I feel like the adrenaline just kicked in and I dunked it,” said Johnson-Arigu.

“What can you do? We’re not asking for autographs after that one. You just try to get down and score and keep the play going. It’s a bucket,” said Mankato East coach Joe Madson. “He had a couple nice ones and he’s a good player. He’s strong, he’s got a nice touch around the basket.”

Tyler Wagner added 17 points and Watley 10 for the Eagles. Dothan Ijadimbola grabbed 10 rebounds. Totino-Grace shot 55.8% from the field.

Up 52-49 midway through the second half, Totino-Grace scored 12 of the game’s next 14 points, including Johnson-Arigu’s dunk and a couple of layups from Ijadimbola.

In its semifinal win over DeLaSalle, Totino-Grace trailed by four with just under eight minutes to go before scoring 20 of the next 25 points.

“Even though we have that experience I feel like some of the nerves can sometimes get to us. Second half we just really kind of settle in and kind of just come together as a team,” said Will Brands. He and Johnson-Arigu are the only seniors.

“We just kind of like buy in to what the job is. We tend to figure out what we need to get done late. It’s a bad habit. We should be coming out strong, but we never do, and it always happens in the second half,” Ijadimbola said.

Heading into the tournament, Totino-Grace coach Nick Carroll believed there were six “really good teams” that could emerge with the championship hardware.

“This was for sure the toughest run for us,” he said. “We had three very challenging opponents, and Stewartville was awesome (a 57-48 quarterfinal win), and obviously DeLaSalle you always got a handful with them, and I thought Mankato East played as well as I’ve seen them play all year.”

Brogan Madson scored 27 points and Carson Schweim grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Cougars (28-3). Second place is the best finish in school history.

“It’s not the way we wanted it to end, but it’s pretty cool if you think about it,” Schweim said.

“We’re predominately a man team, we try to play a little zone, we’re just not as good at it, and I think that’s what probably could be good against them at times. We stuck with what we want to do, and I think we handled it well some of the time but gave up some easy hoops,” said Joe Madson.

The Cougars were just 5 for 28 from long range.

“It’s a make-it league … just didn’t get enough of them to go down,” Joe Madson said.

Down by 13 with just under four minutes to play, Mankato East scored eight of the next 10 points to get within 66-59. But Totino-Grace drained seven of nine free throws down the stretch.

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As they have done all season, the Wild played a crucial game Saturday without two of their best players, top-line center Joel Eriksson Ek and shutdown defenseman Jonas Brodin, both out with lower body injuries.

More bad injury timing for Minnesota, which had captain Jared Spurgeon for only 16 games and already has lost key players such as Brodin, Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Matt Boldy and Filip Gustavsson for long stretches this season.

The Wild on Saturday coughed up a pair of one-goal leads, one in the third period, in a 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis that dealt their postseason hopes a serious blow. Minnesota has just 11 regular-season games left and doesn’t play again until Thursday against San Jose at the X.

The good news is coach John Hynes thinks he could get Eriksson Ek and Brodin back for that one.

“I’m hoping so, yeah,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot of time between that, but it’s trending that way. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’m hopeful for that.”

Eriksson Ek went through a full practice on Friday, and there was a chance he could have played on Saturday, when the Wild had a chance to pass St. Louis into ninth place in the Western Conference. Instead, they fell three points behind.

“He wasn’t ready to be able to play tonight,” Hynes said. “He did practice yesterday and went through some things, but there’s a different level of skating and practicing readiness versus game readiness.”

Eriksson Ek hasn’t played since a 4-1 victory over Arizona on March 12. Brodin was injured in last Tuesday’s 4-0 victory at Anaheim, where he landed awkwardly after being thrown to the ice by Ducks winger Alex Killorn.

Long wait

Any NHL team would be glad to have four straight days off, especially this late in the season. The Wild have time to rest and heal, but they’re also idle while their closest competitors for the West’s two wild card spots are active.

St. Louis, Vegas and Los Angeles will each play once during that stretch, each time a chance to bury Minnesota deeper in the standings.

“I mean it’s still on us, you know?” said rookie center Marco Rossi, who scored two goals on Saturday. “Like, four days off can be huge for us. We get away from hockey, a free mind, and then coming back we know what’s on the line.”

Rossi, 22, now has 20 goals in 70 games his first full NHL season.

“If we would have won the game it would be different,” he said. “Yeah, it’s nice. I try to help the team.”

Leddy hits 1,000

St. Louis defenseman Nick Leddy, the former Gopher who was picked 16th overall by the Wild in the 2009 entry draft, played his 1,000th NHL game in the Blues’ victory Saturday.

“There’s not many guys that accomplish that,” teammate Pavel Buchnevich said. “It’s a huge accomplishment, and I know for him to be home and to get a win, it’s a very special night for him.

Leddy, 33, had the second assist in Jordan Kyrou’s game-tying goal in the third period. An Eden Prairie native, Leddy bought a suite for about 30 friends and family members for the game.

“A little more expensive, but it’ll be a special moment,” Leddy told reporters Friday. “I think it will be nice. A lot of people made trips to come and watch a game, and I’m very grateful for that. Definitely feel the love and I really appreciate it.”

Leddy received a nice ovation from the crowd when the Wild announced his feet during a break in the first period.

Briefly

The Wild on Saturday signed Riley Heidt to a three-year, entry-level contract that starts with the 2024-25 season. Heidt, 18, has 34 goals and 114 points in 65 games with Prince George of the major junior Western Hockey League. Minnesota selected him in the second round of last summer’s entry draft.

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