A "jumper" with 5 minutes, 56 seconds remaining in the second half is all the credit Totino-Grace senior Isaiah Johnson-Arigu received in the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament championship game boxscore for a massive play.
The designed play is known among Eagles coaches and players as "Zona," short for Arizona. Chace Watley threw an alley-oop pass to the far side of the Mankato East basket. Johnson-Arigu retrieved the ball with a soaring leap and finished with a righthand dunk over a Cougars defender.
The sequence drew a rousing audience response both live and with each subsequent video replay Saturday at Williams Arena. And it provided the Eagles with a seven-point lead. Not to mention an emotional spark carrying them through the final stretch of a 73-64 victory.
Johnson-Arigu, a Star Tribune All-Metro first-team selection, powered No. 1 seed Totino-Grace (27-5) to a third consecutive state title with 25 points. A versatile talent who has signed with Miami (Florida), Johnson-Arigu added 11 rebounds.
"That was a really good energy boost," Johnson-Arigu said of his dunk.
No. 2 seed Mankato East (28-3) earned a runner-up trophy to go with a trio of third-place finishes. Brogan Madson, the Cougars' junior guard, scored a game-high 27 points. But it wasn't enough for an Eagles team inspired by Watley and Johnson-Arigu's successful execution of Zona.
"It was a terrific play," Mankato East coach Joe Madson said. "But I know our guys have seen it in open gyms and whatnot. It was fairly impressive, but it's only worth two points. We're not asking for autographs after that, we're just trying to go back out there, score and keep play going.
"He's strong and he's got a nice touch around the basket," Madson said of Johnson-Arigu. "There's a reason he's going to play at Miami. If our guys go to Miami, it's probably for spring break."
Totino-Grace led 37-34 at halftime. Mankato East, which fought its way back from a large deficit in its semifinal victory against Alexandria, settled in for a battle with the two-time defending champions.
Poor three-point shooting, however, doomed the Cougars. They went 1-for-13 on three-point attempts in the second half and just 5-for-29 (17%) for the game.
