Every Tuesday at 6:50 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. during the high school year, we feature a team or athlete with our TRIA Prep Salute.This week’s salute recognizes the Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys basketball team,

No. 6 Benilde-St. Margaret’s breezes past Chanhassen 90-55 for third straight win. Zahara Bishop’s 25 points led the way for the Red Knights along with 17 from Pressley Watkins and Kendall McGee’s 13 points.

Alexandria hosts No. 9 (Class 4A) Sauk Rapids-Rice (13-4) at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, and No. 2 (Class 3A) Orono (11-3) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. Sauk Rapids-Rice beat Alexandria, 81-76, on Dec. 7, 2024, in a game where Thompson was out with an injury.

The Alexandria boys and girls basketball teams play conference games to end the week before hosting Benilde-St. Margaret's on Saturday

The junior goalie guides the Thunderhawks against the Wolverines and one of the state’s top scoring duos in clash for control of Class 2A, Section 7 at 7 p.m. on startribune.com.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys hockey coach Ken Pauly became the sixth boys coach in state history to reach 600 career victories when the Red Knights defeated Orono 6-4 on Thursday at Orono Ice Arena. Pauly,

Benilde-St. Margaret’s watched its season end at the hands of a halfcourt prayer. Orono was down by a point when guard Nolan Groves chucked up a deep three-pointer in double overtime of the Class 3A,

The Alexandria boys and girls basketball teams are ranked No. 4 in the Minnesota Basketball News Class 3A rankings (Jan. 29, 2025 edition). The Alexandria boys basketball team (12-3) is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A behind Mankato East (14-1),

David La Vaque is a high school sports reporter who has been the lead high school hockey writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2010. He is co-author of “Tourney Time,” a book about the history of Minnesota’s boys hockey state tournament published in 2020 and updated in 2024.

BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS By Minnesota Basketball News CLASS 4A • 1. Cretin-Derham Hall (17-0); 2. Wayzata (15-2); 3. Hopkins (16-1); 4. Tartan (16-0); 5.

Andover, Holy Family, Blake, Totino Grace, St. Louis Park, Blaine. Albert Lea, Providence Academy, Rochester Lourdes, Alexandria. Forest Lake, Thief River Falls, Chisago Lakes, New Ulm, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, East Grand Forks.

Minnesota high school boys basketball is in full swing, and High School on SI has the top 25 teams in the state ranked regardless of classification. Vo