THE MINNEAPOLIS CITY TOOK ON THE ST. PAUL CITY IN THE SEMIFINALS OF THE BOYS' STATE TOURNAMENT

The Minneapolis Washburn Millers took on the St. Paul Johnson Governors in the state boys' basketball semifinals. In their first meeting of the season in the Twin Cities championship game Washburn came away with the 90-89 victory. Johnson had a record of 21-8 going into the game and Washburn had a record of 28-2.

The game got off to a quick start as each team traded baskets to open the game up. Neither team gave up easy shots.

Johnson got the ball into the hands of Marcus Marteze Marshall. Marshall was all over the floor. He was able to get his shot up and beat teams off the dribble.

At the first media timeout with 10:44 left in the first half the score was Washburn 18 and Johnson 11.

Washburn went to a zone defense in an attempt to force Johnson in spreading out their offense.

Washburn was a little quicker than Johnson which enable them to take a 10 point lead in the first half.

There was a media timeout with 6:16 left in the first half. The score was Washburn 27 and St. Paul Johnson 17.

Washburn’s Jerry Pratt and Joseph Doby were on fire. They both were able to step up and hit some difficult shots.

There was a media timeout with 3:22 left in the first half. The score was Washburn 35 and Johnson 23.

Washburn went to a zone defense. They wanted to force Johnson to take deep three-point shots.

At halftime the score was Washburn 39 and Johnson 30.

At the half Washburn was 17-28 from the field that included going 1-5 from behind the three-point line. Johnson was 12-29 from the field. That included going 3-7 from behind the three-point line.

As the second half got underway Johnson came out on fire. They closed the gap to 4 points by feeding Marshall the ball. Marshall was all over the floor he continued to drop shots.

At the first media timeout with 14:55 left in regulation the score was Washburn 43 and Johnson 39.

Washburn looked to slow down Marshall. They were able to trap him and make him pick up his dribble.

Johnson continued to look to push the ball down the court and get it into the hands into their star player Marshall. Washburns pressure was working.

There was a media timeout with 10:30 left in regulation the score was Washburn 52 and Johnson 42.

Johnson looked to pass the ball around the three-point line. They looked to find there shot late in the game. They did make a run late in the game and managed to close the scoring gap to only 3 points. Washburn called a timeout with 7:45 left in regulation the score was Washburn 52 and Johnson 49.

The game came down to the wire. Both teams did a good job of battling to the end.

Both teams were able to score baskets in transition. Washburn switched between man-to-man and zone defense.

At the final media timeout of the game with 3:49 left in regulation the score was Washburn 60 and Johnson 58.

Both teams traded baskets late in the ball game. Johnson called a timeout with 2:07 left in regulation. The score was Washburn 65 and St. Paul Johnson 62.

Johnson went to a full court trap. They wanted to make it hard for Washburn to score baskets late in the contest.

Both team brought a ton of fans and students. They were both into the games and cheered for their teams. There was also a battle of the bands as they both came out in full force.

Washburn came away with the 75-66 victory over St. Paul Johnson. Washburn was lead in scoring by Joseph Doby with 21 points, Jerry Pratt with 17 points and Nick Anderson with 14 points. Washburn shot 28-61 from the field that included going 1-8 from behind the three-point line. They were 18-27 from the free-throw line. They brought down a total of 44 rebounds 22 of them on the defensive end.

St. Paul Johnson was led in scoring by Marshall Marteze Marshall with 31 points De'Vonta Durr with 13 points. Johnson was 21-48 from the field that included going 4-13 from behind the three-point line. They were 20-28 from behind the free-throw line. Johnson brought down a total of 26 rebounds 15 of them on the defensive end.