In a game where his team seemed in search of a spark, it was Joe Mitchell who caught fire.

As a result, Cretin-Derham Hall’s quest to win its first state title since 2018 continues.

Mitchell, a junior guard, scored all 14 of his points in the second half as the top-seeded Raiders (29-1) overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to down No. 4 seed Maple Grove (22-9) 63-49 in a Class 4A state semifinal Thursday night at Williams Arena.

“I had a lot of fears coming into this game,” said the 6-foot-1 Mitchell, whose team fell 74-48 to Wayzata in the Class 4A semifinals a year ago. “We lost in this game last year and I was thinking about that a lot.

“But when the second half came, I was a lot more calm. I was trusting my teammates more. I was trusting my coaches, and it just came to me.”

Mitchell got some big help, literally, from 6-foot-11 senior Tommy Ahneman - a Notre Dame recruit - who led all scorers with 28 points while adding 15 rebounds and two blocked shots.

“It definitely helps when JoJo is hitting shots,” said Ahneman, whose team advances to the state title game, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at Williams Arena. “When for whatever reason, they send his man down to double me and I can skip it to JoJo, I have full confidence he’s going to knock down a three-ball in the corner the way he did a couple times in the second half.”

Indeed, it was back-to-back 3-pointers from Mitchell that capped a 19-6 run to start the second half, giving the Raiders a 34-28 lead with 9:41 to play.

This after the Crimson had taken a 22-15 lead into halftime following a first half that saw the two teams shoot a combined 16-for-54 from the field (Maple Grove was 9-for-27 and Cretin-Derham Hall was 7-for-27).

“They did a really good job mixing it up and mucking it up in the first half,” said Raiders coach Jerry Kline Jr., whose team trailed Tartan 42-29 at halftime in the Section 4-4A title game on March 13.

“We talked about keeping our poise. We know who we are as a team and we’re way better when we start sharing the ball.”

Doing that opened things up on the perimeter and Mitchell took full advantage.

“Our goal coming into the game was to clog the paint and live with the outside shots,” said Crimson senior guard Keegan Harney, who led his team with 14 points. “When they started hitting them, especially JoJo, there’s not much you can do about that.

“Especially when they’re so dominant inside.”

That combination has the Raiders back in the state title game for the first time since falling to Wayzata 75-61 in 2021. The Raiders defeated Apple Valley 79-78 in 2018 to bring home the school’s last state championship.

“Winning, that’s the only thing we’re worried about,” Ahneman said looking ahead to Saturday. “We don’t care about the stats or anything else that happens in the game. All we care about is winning.”