(photo courtesy Bennett Wise/WSBT)

(Logansport) — The Saint Joseph boys basketball team hopes the sequel is better than the original.

Motivated by the red ribbons they brought home last season after finishing as state runner-ups, Eric Gaff’s squad punched its return ticket to Gainbridge Fiedhouse Saturday night, beating East Chicago Central, 84-72, to win the 3A North Semistate here at the fabled Berry Bowl.

The Huskies used an early barrage of three-pointers and then hung on down the stretch to raise their record to 26-3 and gain a berth against Crispus Attucks in the championship game next Saturday at 6 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“We look at it every day” said Gaff of the red ribbons the team brought home last year. ” At the end of the day it makes me angry that I didn’t do a good enough job for my guys and get them ready to win. Just a little extra salt in the wound.”

The Huskies were certainly salty from three-point range in the first half, draining 10 of 14 shots from beyond the arc before halftime. Sophomore Elijah King scored 21 points before the intermission to lead the way.

When things dried up in the third quarter a little bit, point guard Ethan Roseman took things into his own hands. Roseman scored eight points in the third quarter, while finishing with a team-high nine assists.

The Cardinals were able to cut the margin to eight points with 1:54 left, but the Huskies nailed their free throws down the stretch and the celebration was on.

For Saint Joseph, it’s the fourth boys basketball semistate title in school history and second in the class format.  The victory will automatically move the Huskies into Class 4A next season, due to the IHSAA success factor rule.