John Marshall embracing underdog role in first state tournament in more than 2 decades
Mar. 17—ROCHESTER — It's undeniable the 2024-25 John Marshall boys basketball team will be remembered for years to come.
As time expired in the Section 1, Class 4A championship game Friday night, a quick glance around Mayo Civic Arena was more than enough to see just how much this Rockets team means to Rochester.
JM students, staff, faculty, family and friends gathered to watch the Rockets clinch their first state berth in 22 years. Even some spectators with ties to Century and Mayo showed up to support.
The crowd roared when 6-foot-4 senior forward Brayson Sawyer knocked the ball away from Lakeville North as the Panthers made a last-ditch attempt at a game-winning shot. It sealed the deal for the Rockets in their nail-biting 68-66 victory. They are officially section champs.
"(They) just kept on grinding away and glad we made one more play," head coach Jim Daly said. "Grayson got the big tip, so we'll take it. We're excited. It might have been his first tip of his career."
Fans were on their feet as players and coaches hugged. It was an emotional night, one that won't be forgotten anytime soon.
It was a head-turning season overall, the best a JM team has played since 2017-18, when it went 26-3. That was Daly's first season with the program. The team enters this year's state tournament at 25-4.
The Rockets are led by a large crew of seniors who've played together since they were young kids. The group of Sawyer, 6-foot-0 guard Eli Ladu, 6-foot-8 forward Angok Kucha, 6-foot-4 guards Denard and Markes Simpson and 6-foot-11 center Joe Lueth is tall and built with some solid shooters.
Daly has repeatedly described the squad as one of his best. They also happen to be his first JM team to make it to the state tournament.
"They're extremely athletic, extremely competitive and very, very coachable," Daly said.
The Rockets have strength in their ability to distribute scoring duties. There were at least four players who put up 10 or more points during the section championship.
"I think the more versatility we have, the more options we have, the more dangerous we are," Sawyer said. "So if it's not a one-man show, you know they can't take away everything. It's good to be able to lean on your teammates. If someone's having a bad game, there's a lot of options on the team, so that's always good."
Their perseverance is what helped them secure a win on Friday, despite some fouls and missed shots.
"One of Coach Daly's famous quotes is, 'fouls negate hustle,'" Sawyer said. "So we were just hustling. We were to the last second. Maybe we didn't agree with some of the fouls, but we have to live with it. At the end of the day, we came out with a (win)."
They'll need to carry that drive with them as they take on No. 1-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall (27-1) in the state quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 18, at Target Center.
JM has four losses this season, to Burnsville (54-51), Anoka (69-58), Mankato East (74-44) and Mayo (76-69). The Raiders' lone loss was to East Ridge (89-70) on Feb. 7.
Meeting them in the first round is a daunting task, as this is C-DH's fifth state appearance in six years.
Despite the challenge, the Rockets will be underdogs with nothing to lose. They are feeling confident and have faith in Daly.
"We have a great coach," Sawyer said on Friday night after the section championship. "He'll get us ready. He's great. He got us ready all year. I think we have two practices, but Coach Daly will make sure we're great."
Quartefinals and consolation rounds: All boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal, consolation and third-place games will be streamed live at NSPN.tv/MSHSL (requires a monthly or annual subscription).
Semifinals and championships: All championship semifinals and championship games will be streamed at Prep45.com, and will be brodcast on START-TV, channel 192 on Spectrum cable in the Rochester area.
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