New Life boys basketball: Heiser hits 1,000; Eagles soar in sections

The New Life Academy boys basketball team secured a pair of wins and soared into the Section 4AA semifinals last week, while one of its seniors – Alex Heiser – reached a milestone.

To reach the semifinals, fourth-seeded New Life beat fifth-seeded Trinity 52-40 on Saturday, March 10, in the Section 4AA quarterfinals after topping 13th-seeded Mounds Park Academy on Thursday, March 8, 71-52, in the opening round, as Heiser scored his 1,000th career point.

Against Mounds Park Academy, Heiser – a team captain – scored a game-high and season-high 28 points, eclipsing 1,000 points for his career. Heiser netted his 1,000th point on a short jump shot to tie the game 29-29 in the first half. In the game, NLA (16-11) broke a 31-31 first half tie, outscoring a pesky Mounds Park Academy squad 40-21 in the second half for the 19-point win. On the year, Heiser, a 6’2” forward, is averaging a team-best 15.3 points per game.

In addition to Heiser’s heroics, sophomore guard John Horner had nine points and four rebounds, senior forward Dan Otto scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds and junior guard Cam Duffy scored seven points to go along with seven assists and four steals in the win over Mounds Park Academy (2-24).

The win moved NLA into the section quarterfinals against Trinity at River Ridge (17-11).

In the quarterfinals, New Life opened up a 27-16 first-half lead on Trinity and held on for the win, outscoring the Tri Hawks 25-24 in the second half.

Horner led the way in the win with 12 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Duffy chipped in 11 points and Otto had five points and 15 rebounds.

The win bought Eagles a ticket to the semifinals against top-seeded St. Croix Lutheran (22-6) on Tuesday, March 13, after the Bulletin went to print. An upset win over St. Croix would put the Eagles in the section finals on Friday, March 16, at Holy Angels against either third-seeded Concordia Academy of Roseville or seventh-seeded St. Paul Academy.

Tags: sports, basketball, prep, updates