MANKATO — If you’re going to try to keep up an up-tempo pace against four-time defending Section 2AAA boys basketball champion Mankato East, you better be ready to suffer the consequences.
Saturday afternoon at the East gym, No. 5 seeded New Ulm (14-13) attempted to match the Cougars’ prolific running game and fell 85-45 in a 2AAA semifinal game. East, the No.6-ranked team in AAA, blistered the nets at a 68% clip (34 of 50) in advancing to Thursday’s 7 p.m. title contest at Gustavus’ Lund Center against the Marshall-St. Peter winner.
Abdullah Mohamed, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, turned in a career effort 21 points and six rebounds as the Cougars improved to 20-7 on the season. Amari Nobles, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, totaled 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for the winners, who also received 13 points, five assists and a trio of steals from senior guard Lucas Gustafson along with 12 points and three steals from senior forward Briggs Meyer.
“Our goal was to jump on them early and really set the tone,” East coach Tony Ball said. “In the film we saw, they were able to be the dictators in the pace of play. We wanted to make them feel uncomfortable early and hopefully force some quick shots and turnovers which would lead to offense for us. The guys executed our game plan to a T and made life difficult for the two Hopp (Mitchell and Levi) brothers.
“The (Abdullah Mohamed) we saw today was the version we’ve been waiting to see all year. He has a lot of raw talent and is only going to get better. He was a late bloomer and the guys were really excited for him after the game. Like I told him, this is the version of you that is going to get us over the hump as we make our way through the section tournament and hopefully into the state tournament. … He was a real difference maker tonight.”
Gustafson’s seven-point flurry — a driving hoop, long top-of-the-key 3-pointer and 13-foot baseline fade-away — helped the Cougars grab an early 15-6 lead on Mohamed’s two free throws at the 11:25 mark. Nobles then took the ball to the rim for three straight buckets before Gustafson’s right baseline three produced a 36-12 advantage. Nobles, Gustafson and Mohamed netted 12 points apiece over the first 18 minutes as East built a 48-23 cushion.
“My game was really on. I made sure I had a consistent game,” Mohamed said. “It’s playoff time, so I had to be locked in every minute of the day. I really didn’t realize I had that many points because I just wanted to win. Coach said not to worry about individual stats but rather worry about making a playoff run so we can get back to where we were last year.
“It really helps when you just focus on winning and not the stats. My teammates were finding me at all times. We just wanted to be smart going into the game and not mess up on any plays. We wanted to make every play count. We knew we could run them out of the gym because they didn’t have as much depth. … We used that to our full advantage.”
After Nobles’ three-point play off a putback extended the margin to 59-27, Meyer’s left-wing 3-pointer began a 9-2 run that boosted the lead to 68-29 on Gavin Hering’s basket with 10:48 to go. Junior wing Griffin Schott hit a pair of 3-pointers and driving hoop to finish with eight points and four assists. Senior post Braden Petzel chipped in six points and six boards while Colton McCormick dropped through two triples.
“Abs had an amazing day for us,” Nobles said. “He had a rough couple of practices last week, but he stepped up when it counted and that’s all that matters. We love to play up and down so we’re at our best in transition. We’ve got multiple shooters from the corners and we look for that. We have multiple guys who can score and defensively we like to play physical and not let the other team get comfortable.”
East enjoyed a 34-23 rebounding advantage and committed one more turnover 14-13. New Ulm connected on 19 of 51 from the field for 37.2 percent. Junior guard Jayden Broste led the Eagles with 13 points and Zach Hubbard added eight.