Photos by Samantha Davis. Marshall's Jack Meier drives for a layup in the first half against St. Peter Saturday night in the Section 2AAA semifinals. The Tigers defeated the Saints 69-67 in overtime behind Meier's team-leading 23 points. Below: Alex Franson (left) and Cooper Mensink (right) quickly regroup and share a moment in the game's final seconds after Mensink stole the ball and was headed to the free throw line. Below: The Marshall bench reacts when Meier tied the game up at 65 with regulation coming to a close.

MANKATO — Fighting a deficit nearly the entire game but persevering in a resilient manner, the No. 2 Marshall boys basketball team is advancing to the Section 2AAA championship for the first time since 2021 after rallying back to defeat third-seeded St. Peter 69-67 in overtime Saturday night in Mankato in the semifinals.

“That was great, oh my gosh. We stuck together and we held everyone accountable,” senior Cooper Mensink said. “We really fought toward the end of the game, and I think that’s what helped us win. We trusted ourselves, and when we trust ourselves, good things happen.”

Marshall trailed almost the whole night, and was down by 10 points with seven minutes to go. It entered the second half down 35-32, after committing a string of turnovers throughout the first half to allow St. Peter to stay in front. The Tigers didn’t take their first lead of the night until midway through the second half.

“I think we just miscommunicated a bit,” Mensink said regarding the team’s early struggles. “But, it showed in the second half when we communicated. The defense stood out and that turned into offense for us.”

Marshall came up big in the final minutes of the second half to force overtime and hit free throws down the stretch to complete the comeback and keep its season alive.

Tied at 65 entering overtime, St. Peter continued its aggressive defense with two straight steals after hitting a free throw, and got fouled on the second fast break layup attempt with 1:25 to go. Carter Dale made one of his free throws to give the Saints a 67-65 edge.

Jack Meier drove the lane and got fouled in return with 56 seconds left, and made one of his free throws to bring Marshall within a point.

Sparking up its defense when it mattered the most, Alex Franson tipped a St. Peter pass for Mason Graven to grab the steal and fed the ball back up to a sprinting Franson for the and-1 with 24.6 seconds left, giving the Tigers a 68-67 lead.

Franson missed the free throw, but Jayden Meister got the offensive rebound and hit it off St. Peter’s leg as he was falling out of bounds to keep the ball in Marshall’s possession while shaving off a couple seconds to bring the clock to 19.6.

Marshall overall outrebounded St. Peter 37-24.

Mensink got fouled twice in the final seconds, and made one of his free throws to give Marshall its 69-67 final score. Mensink was then able to grab a steal on the Saints’ last offensive possession with 4.7 seconds left, limiting St. Peter from getting a final shot off as the Marshall bench, coaches and crowd erupted in excitement.

“Just get the ball,” Mensink said regarding his mindset in the final seconds. “In the last free throws, the ball felt as light as a feather. We got a little nervous there, but we prevailed as a team and came up with the win.”

Meier led Marshall with 23 points on 69% shooting. Mensink followed with 12 points behind a trio of 3-pointers along with a team-high four steals and two blocks. Franson also tallied 11 points and led with eight rebounds. Graven followed with seven rebounds.

“We have some resilient young men in that locker room,” Marshall head coach Travis Carroll said. “We did not get off to a good start tonight, we were behind throughout the first half. The kids did a good job of getting the deficit down to 3 at halftime, then St. Peter was able to build it back up in the double digits in the second half … Our kids could have easily said, ‘This is not our night, the season’s over.’ But, our kids decided that we’re going to continue to fight and battle. Proud of our kids and the resiliency they had tonight.”

Overall, Marshall shot 45% from the field, 35% from the perimeter and went 10 of 16 at the free throw line. St. Peter shot at 36-36% shooting marks to its 14 of 17 charity stripe performance.

Carroll exited the locker room postgame drenched in water, as the team celebrated its comeback in traditional fashion.

“We poured water, the locker room is a bit wet,” Mensink said laughing. “Everyone was jumping up and down.”

From tip-off, Marshall struggled early with turnovers and started the game by throwing the ball out of bounds, spending the first half and beginning minutes of the second making up for errors.

The Tigers finished with 14 turnovers to the Saints’ 11.

“There were a lot of things that were within our control that we didn’t do very well tonight,” Carroll said. “Our kids worked through those mistakes and found a way to win.”

The Saints made a habit of trapping Franson, Marshall’s leading scorer, once he would cross half court bringing the ball up, which forced a few turnovers.

“This is the third game we’ve played them, and the first two games, they didn’t trap any ball screens, but tonight they were trapping,” Carroll said. “They caught us off guard with that, and we didn’t handle that very well … They won 90% of the game tonight … Give them credit for the adjustments they made, and give our kids credit for the resiliency and sticking to it.”

Owen Potts was St. Peter’s main playmaker on offense and continued to hit big shots through the night. He finished with a game-high 24 points to his four steals.

Meier played a significant part in keeping the Tigers within reach, and eventually tied the game up at 65 with a minute to go in the second half after pivoting around his defender in the lane for an open bucket.

“What a special night for a special young man,” Carroll said. “He [Meier] was phenomenal. Proud that he had it on this night. I’m happy for Jack. He’s been a great teammate all year, and his teammates have been great to him all year. Each night, someone different steps up, and it was Jack’s turn to step up. We were excited for him.”

Franson then forced a travel on St. Peter on defense with 43 seconds to go, and Marshall was able to withhold the Saints from getting a shot off at the buzzer to bring the game to overtime.

Marshall initially took its first lead of the night in the second half, 45-43, with Meier getting the ball at the low block off an inbound play. But, Potts hit a 3-pointer to put the Saints back in front, as the two teams continued to trade baskets up until the tied score to end regulation.

“They’re a very efficient team on offense. They have a good inside game and a good outside game,” Carroll said. “We got caught inside the 3-point line a little bit too much, so they were getting uncontested shots.”

Marshall and St. Peter were familiar with one another’s play style ahead of Saturday, meeting twice in the regular season. The Tigers also overcame a halftime deficit on Feb. 7 for the 74-71 win, and had more control in their 89-69 victory on Jan. 7.

Carroll called a timeout early in the game once St. Peter eclipsed a 7-3 lead.

A few minutes later, Meier began to heat up with a pair of layups coming in from the baseline, drawing a charge on defense, and hitting a 3-pointer to cut into St. Peter’s 32-27 lead.

Marshall (20-8) will next be playing for the section title for the first time since 2021. In that matchup, the Tigers fell to Mankato West 52-47. They last won the section in 2017, and went on to place third at the Class AAA state tournament.

“It feels great,” Mensink said about heading to the championship. “We’ve been through a roller coaster of events since my freshman year, and it feels good to go to the section championship. I always dreamed about going there when I was a little kid watching the older Marshall varsity play. It’s just going to be a dream.”

Marshall will be taking on top-seeded Mankato East for the title on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Gustavus Adolphus Lund Center. The Cougars defeated No. 4 Mankato West 77-54 on Saturday prior to the Tigers’ game.

Mankato East (26-1) is also currently ranked first in the coaches poll, and took the meeting against the Tigers in the regular season 85-40 on Dec. 12.

“We’re excited for this opportunity,” Carroll said. “Mankato East is a great basketball team. We’re going to get to work on Monday to get ready for the game on Wednesday, it’s another opportunity.”