Photo by Samantha Davis. Marshall's JR Vierstraete drives toward the basket in the first half against Worthington Wednesday night in the Section 2AAA quarterfinals at Marshall High School. The Tigers advance to Saturday's semifinals after defeating the Trojans 77-60.

MARSHALL — Making it past the Section 2AAA Tournament quarterfinals and advancing to the semifinals for the first time in three seasons, the second-seeded Marshall boys basketball team defeated No. 7 Worthington 77-60 Wednesday night.

Players exited the locker room after the game to celebrate its final home game victory of the season chanting, “We did it.”

“This feels really good. We’re excited to keep the run going,” senior Mason Graven said. “I think [tonight] we played with each other and for each other.”

Marshall started the game on a 12-0 run and eclipsed a 15-point halftime lead through a well-balanced effort on both ends of the court. About midway through the first half, the Tigers applied a full-court press, which sparked their defensive effort with a handful of steals for extra fast break points, and they never lost sight of their double-digit lead once obtained.

“It’s been a few years since we’ve hosted a section game at home, and the last time we won a section quarterfinal game was actually on the road three years ago,” Marshall head coach Travis Carroll said. “We are excited for the opportunity to advance.”

Alex Franson led Marshall with 14 points, while Cooper Mensink followed with 12 and went 4 for 8 at the perimeter. Jayden Meister also tallied 11 points to his game-high 10 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 43% from the field and limited the Trojans to a 37% mark.

Marshall and Worthington met twice over the regular season, with the Tigers also taking both meetings 76-37 on Dec. 13, and 63-39 on Jan. 21.

Franson led the Tigers with 10 first-half points while Mensink followed with 9, from a trio of 3-pointers.

After a scoreless first two minutes, Franson grabbed a steal and went up for the fast break dunk followed by a layup with an open lane on the next possession to get the scoring started.

Oliver Voigt hit a midrange floater and Braxton Koster drilled in a 3 to help Marshall carry on a 9-0 start, which extended to 12 unanswered points with a Jack Meier free throw and another field goal from Voigt.

“We had a good start … We were able to get some things going offensively. We did a good job of getting the ball in the paint and getting some good looks, and finding open teammates for open shots,” Carroll said. “Defensively, we did a good job of limiting them [Worthington] to one shot, being able to rebound and look to attack and transition. Those were important areas for tonight.”

The Trojans were held scoreless for the first seven minutes until Caleb Meyer made a free throw after drawing a foul.

Marshall had good ball movement throughout the night, getting several players on the score board and shaking off Worthington’s defense. Its defense also remained proficient through its press and rebounding.

13 different Tigers scored during the game.

“That [full-court press] was a good point in the first half to pick up that pace a little bit to create some tips and some steals with that defense and get some opportunities going the other way,” Carroll said. “It’s good to change up throughout the game and give the other team different looks as to what we can do defensively.”

Marshall dominantly outrebounded the Trojans 46-23, 29 of which were defensive boards.

“Yeah, that [the press] for sure definitely picked up the energy,” Graven said. “We got a few consecutive steals and a lot of transitions.”

Franson and Mensink teamed up for a pair of plays with Mensink getting the defensive rebound and a steal on back-to-back plays, and fed the basketball up to Franson on both occasions for a dunk and layup.

“They [Franson and Mensink] do a good job of finding each other … Also, finding their other teammates as well for open looks,” Carroll said. “They definitely have had good chemistry throughout the season, which is important for our team, that they work well together.”

JR Vierstraete battled through the paint to put up a jump shot to give the Tigers a 20-point lead, 31-10.

As the first half was coming to a close, Mensink hit his third 3-pointer of the night at the right wing and Franson made a baseline jumper to give Marshall a 39-24 halftime advantage.

The Tigers opened their shooting up more to the perimeter while limiting Worthington’s looks at the start of the second half with 3’s from Mensink, Vierstraete and Levi Maeyaert to help put them up 60-26 in the half’s first five minutes.

Marshall kept its efficient shooting going and cruised the rest of the way as reserves also got a few minutes of playing time to finish up the game.

The last time Marshall earned a spot in the section semifinals was in 2022 after it took down Jordan 83-54 in the quarterfinals. The Tigers lost to Mankato East in the semis, who earned the first seed in this year’s tournament.

Last season, the Tigers were given the seven-seed but suffered an 88-54 loss to Mankato West in the quarters, who they were also eliminated by in 2023.

Marshall (19-8) will next face No. 3 St. Peter (14-13) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Mankato East High School. The Saints defeated No. 6 Hutchinson 100-70 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

The last time Marshall and St. Peter met on Feb. 7 at home, the Tigers had to overcome a deficit to secure their 74-71 victory. Marshall also took the meeting with more control on Jan. 7 89-69.

“The last time we played them was a great matchup. They [St. Peter] had us down at halftime, and we made a great run in the second half to come back and win the game. They do a lot of great things offensively that are going to create some challenges for us,” Carroll said. “We’re going to have to get to work the next two days on working to slow that down. When we’re on offense, we have some things that we need to work on in order to create some opportunities for our team … It’s going to be a good matchup, and we’re excited for it.”

Following the semifinals, the section title game will be played next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Gustavus Adolphus Lund Center.