New Life Academy boys basketball: St. Croix ends Eagles’ season

The New Life Academy boys basketball team’s season came to an end last week.

The Eagles fell 53-44 to St. Croix Lutheran in the Section 4AA semifinals on Tuesday.

In the game, top-seeded St. Croix (24-6) pulled ahead 24-14 in the first half and held on for the win. Fourth-seeded New Life Academy outscored the Crusaders 30-29 in the second half, but couldn’t overcome the slow start.

New Life struggled to shoot from the outside in the loss. The Eagles were 12-for-32 from the floor in the game and went 4-for-18 from behind the 3-point line.

Senior forward Dan Otto led the way for the Eagles (16-12) in the loss with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Alex Heiser added 11 points and three rebounds, sophomore guard John Horner had nine points, four rebounds and three assists, junior guard Cam Duffy had five points, five assists and four rebounds and senior forward Cody Linton had seven rebounds and three assists.

St. Croix Lutheran went on to beat Concordia Academy-Roseville 64-59 in the Section 4AA championship to qualify for the state tournament.

The loss ended the high school career of five New Life seniors – Heiser, Otto, Linton, Raleigh Becker and Jayme Nelson.

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