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Mankato East tops Orono in Minnesota high school boys basketball state tournament semifinal: Live score recap

Get real-time updates from the 2025 MSHSL boys basketball Class 3A semifinals between the Cougars and the Spartans

Jack Butler

SBLive

The No. 1 Mankato East Cougars (29-1) defeated the No. 4 Orono Spartans (23-8) 64-62 in the 2025 Minnesota (MSHSL) high school boys basketball state tournament on Thursday at Williams Arena.

The Cougars shot 41.4 percent from the field while holding Orono to 34 percent shooting from the field. The Spartans survived on free throws, going 21-for-28 from the line, but it wasn't enough.

Orono's Nolan Groves led all scorers with 31 points. Ganden Gosch led Mankato East with 16 points.

Mankato East tops Orono in Minnesota high school boys basketball state tournament semifinal: Live score recap

Teams are on the court for introductions.

FIRST HALF UPDATES

The first half is underway.

Four minutes into the game, and Orono is 1-for-6 from the field. The Cougars have a 6-2 lead.

10:43 remains and Mankato East has an 11-5 lead. Orono continues to shoot poorly and have turnover issues. Nolan Groves with all five points for the Spartans.

Orono cuts the lead to 16-13 with 7:43 remaining. Groves up to eight points. Ganden Gosch has nine points for the Cougars.

Mankato East continues to shoot threes, but they're only 5-for-17 from beyond the arc. The Cougars lead 24-20 with 3:43 remaining.

One minute remains and Mankato East leads 27-21. Gosch up to 12 points. Groves has 10.

HALFTIME: Mankato East 29, Orono 25

Mankato East shoots 31.3 percent, and Orono shoots 29.2 percent in the first half. Gosch and Groves have 12 points each for their teams.

Orono has seven turnovers to Mankato East's one.

SECOND HALF UPDATES

The second half is underway.

Mankato East starts the second half strong. The Cougars lead 44-34 with just over 13 minutes remaining. They've started 6-of-8 from the field in the second half.

Orono has trimmed Mankato East's lead with a 7-2 run entirely from free throws. Mankato East leads 46-41 with 10:51 remaining.

Orono continues to struggle shooting the ball. The Spartans are 5-of-14 in the second half as Mankato East leads 54-46 with 7:30 remaining.

Groves up to 29 points for the Spartans as they tie the game with 4:31 remaining. The Spartans are starting to make some shots.

The game is tied at 62 with 1:43 remaining.

Down by two, Groves gets fouled while going to the basket with only two seconds left. He missed the free throw, and Orono calls a timeout.

Orono can't hold onto the intentionally missed free throw. Mankato East calls timeout during the inbound play.

Mankato East runs out the clock.

FINAL: Mankato East 64, Orono 62

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Jack Butler
JACK BUTLER

Jack Butler is the Regional Editor of the Midwest for SBLive/High School on SI. Jack has covered high school sports in Oregon, Arizona and Minnesota.

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