Boys Hoops: ROCORI Advances, Sauk Rapids and Apollo Fall

The ROCORI Spartans advanced to the Section 5AAA final with a 74-68 overtime win over the Apollo Eagles Saturday at Halenbeck Hall. The Spartans will take on Monticello Thursday evening at Halenbeck for a trip to the state tournament.

The Spartans led 56-41 with 6:03 left the second half, but Apollo went on a furious 18-1 run to briefly take a two-point lead before Sam Olson tied it late for ROCORI.

Apollo's Ethan Novacinski led all scorers with 25 points before fouling out early in overtime. ROCORI's Austin Overman was the All Star Trophy player of the game with 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Elsewhere:
The Alexandria Cardinals surged out to a 15 point halftime lead against Sauk Rapids-Rice before winning 77-59 in the Section 8AAA semifinal. The Cardinals were led by Spencer Hockert with 24 points, and shot 55% from the floor as a team.

The Storm were led by Kobe Boraas, who scored 19 points on 7-15 shooting.

The Cardinals will play against top-seeded Fergus Falls Thursday night in Moorhead.