1 of 14

Blooming Prairie’s Gabe Haen takes a pass inside against Grand Meadow in the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Blooming Prairie’s Drew Kittelson battles for a jump ball with Grand Meadow’s Ethan Lane during the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Grand Meadow’s Ethan Lane goes to dish on a drive in the lane against Blooming Prairie in the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Grand Meadow’s Evan Oehlke drives the baseline against Blooming Prarie in the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game this past season at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Grand Meadow is one of the many smaller schools looking at how to handle the new fees that were charged by the Minnesota State High School League. Herald file photo

Grand Meadow’s Evan Oehlke holds his ground as Blooming Prairie defenders fly past during the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Grand Meadow’s Ben Kraft tries to pass inside during the first half against Blooming Prairie in their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Grand Meadow’s Colt Landers with a spin move ot the net against Blooming Prairie in the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Grand Meadow head coach Dakotah Rostad points down the court following a Blooming Prairie turnover in the first half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Blooming Prairie’s Zach Archer dribbles into Grand Meadow pressure in the second half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Blooming Prairie’s Drew Kittelson pulls down a rebound against Grand Meadow in the second half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The Grand Meadow fans cheer during the second half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The Blooming Prairie crowd jumps to there feet following a Parker Vaith three-pointer Saturday in the second half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Blooming Prairie’s Parker Vaith drives in the second half against Grand Meadow in a Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Blooming Prairie’s Kaden Thomas goes in for a layup against Grand Meadow in the second half of their Section 1A semifinal game Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

ROCHESTER —Just when it looked like the Awesome Blossoms were in complete control, they found themselves in a frantic finish and it wasn’t until Grand Meadow’s Ben Kraft’s three-quarter court shot rimmed out at the buzzer before BP could let out a sigh of relief.

The No. 1 seeded Awesome Blossoms survived a late rush from No. 5 Grand Meadow to win 52-49 in the Section 1A semifinals in Mayo Civic Center Saturday.

BP (24-3 overall) had led 50-36 after Drew Kittelson converted a three-point play, but the Blossom struggled from the free throw line down the stretch, Kaden Thomas missed a wide-open lay-up and the team committed an ill advised turnover that led to an Ethan Gilbert three making it 51-47 with 45.8 seconds left.
The Blossoms made just nine out of 21 free throws in the loss and they missed seven big ones in the final minutes.

“We didn’t talk long, but that was one of the two or three things I said to them. We’ve got to work on our free throws,” BP head coach Nate Piller said. “I think some of it is nerves, and you don’t think your All-Conference player is going to miss a lay-up like that. Weird things like that happen and you can’t take anything for granted.”

The Superlarks (21-8 overall) tied the game at 28 when Gilbert hit a jump shot with 12:53 left, but BP answered with a 16-5 run that was capped by a pair of Parker Vaith three-pointers. Vaith finished with 12 points off the bench.

“That’s my role on the team. I come off the bench and I’m a pretty good scorer. My teammates keep telling me to shoot and that’s what I do,” Vaith said. “(The last few minutes) were making me nervous, but I knew we’d pull through.”

Gabe Hagen, who finished with 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists, took over at the start of the run as he scored on three straight post moves against GM’s Colt Landers.

“The coaches told me I had to come out and play physical,” Hagen said. “I had to change my mentality to stop complaining about fouls if I was slapped. He kept giving me my left and then when he stopped my left, I was just spinning back to my right. It wasn’t too hard for me, I knew I had to step up for the team.”

Landers, a junior, scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Larks. He scored 20 when BP beat GM 54-53 on Jan. 9.

“He’s unbelievable,” Piller said of Landers. “We know what a threat he is and he still gets a shot. He can shoot from everywhere.”

Zach Archer scored the first four points of the game to kickstart a 6-0 spurt for BP, but the Superlarks answered with eight straight when Colt Landers and Ben Kraft each hit threes.

The first half had six lead changes and five ties. Thomas converted a three-point play to give BP a 24-21 lead with 1:09 left in the first half.

BP will take on either Hayfield or Randolph in the Section 1A title game at Mayo Civic Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday. BP’s last state tournament appearance was in 1966.

GM 21  28  –  49
BP 24  28  –  52
BP scoring: Parker Vaith, 12; Gabe Hagen, 12; Drew Kittelson, 12; Kaden Thomas, 7; Zach Archer, 6; Isaac Ille, 3; rebounds: 28 (Hagen, 5; Thomas, 5); free throws: 43 percent (9-for-21); turnovers: 7
GM scoring: Colt Landers, 17; Ethan Gilbert, 11; Ethan Lane, 10; Ben Kraft, 7; Evan Oehlke, 4; free throws: 38 percent (3-for-8)