MINNEAPOLIS -- No team in this state basketball tournament is more aptly named than the Braham Bombers, who New London-Spicer plays at 8 p.m. today at the Target Center for a spot in Saturday's Class AA championship game.
The Section 7AA champions aren't afraid to let it fly from anywhere on the court. They've dropped 289 three-point bombs on opponents with cold-blooded accuracy (41 percent).
The Wildcats have made 168 treys this season at a 35-percent clip.
Braham used the long shot to climb out of a 20-point hole with six minutes to play in the quarterfinals. The Sibley East Wolverines were cruising toward victory with a 49-29 lead when Braham opened the bomb doors.
Ben Thiry, a 6-3 junior forward, hit the first three-pointer at 5:49 of the second half and would follow with three more, plus another two-point jump shot. Thiry scored 14 of his 16 points down the stretch, including the tying shot from behind the arc at with 17 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
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Tyler Vaughan, a 5-11 sophomore guard, hit a three down the stretch and one more in overtime when he scored all six Braham points. He sank the winning free throws at :03 for a 60-59 victory and a game-high 28 points.
The unranked Bombers (28-3) start two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore with a front line that goes 6-3, 6-3 and 6-2.
Coach Bob Vaughan has taken the Bombers to state six of the last seven years winning consecutive AA titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Many of the players on this year's squad had older brothers playing on those title teams.
Matt Cordes and the Wildcats have reached state four of the last five years with a title in 2008. The Wildcats (30-2) are 86-11 the past three seasons.
