Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Will Walter (11) drives to the basket for a layup during a Section 2A, North Subsection boys basketball playoff game Thursday at Sibley East High School in Arlington.

ARLINGTON — Behind Trever Schauer’s seven 3s Thursday night at Sibley East High School, No. 4-seeded Lester Prairie survived a 3-point battle with top-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s to earn an 82-74 win in a Section 2A, North Subsection boys basketball semifinals game.

The Knights end their season with a 20-8 record, while the Bulldogs (16-12) will take on sixth-seeded Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop at 6 p.m. Monday at Gustavus Adolphus College with a trip to the section finals on the line.

Schauer led the Bulldogs with a game-high 35 points, while Devin Bahr had 19 points and Connor Radtke added 12.

The Knights were led by Brandon Schmitz’s 22 points, which included six 3s, while Will Walter had 18 points and Mark Anderson had 16 points. George Schwint was a fourth Knight in double figures as he finished with 13 points.

The Knights hit two more 3s in the game than the Bulldogs (14-12), but the Bulldogs did enough in the paint and on defense late to pull away.

After Alek Hodny’s fast-break slam dunk had the Bulldogs up 8-5, Schmitz tied it for the Knights with a 3. That 3 was promptly answered with a 3 by Schauer, however, giving the Bulldogs the lead back at 11-8.

The Knights then went on an 8-0 run to lead 16-11, with 3s from Walter and Schmitz ending the scoring burst and forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout with 11:45 left in the opening half.

Much like what ended up being the entire game, the Bulldogs had an answer. This time that answer was a 10-0 run to lead 21-16.

The Knights got a pair of corner 3s from Schmitz to take the lead again, 22-21. Lester Prairie retook the lead moments later, but Anderson scored inside late and then stole a pass for a layup to give the Knights a 33-29 halftime lead.

The Knights extended their lead more early in the second thanks in large part to their 3-point shooting. Schmitz, Walter and George Schwint each hit 3s in the first three minutes of the half to put the Knights up 44-35.

Lester Prairie started hitting more 3s also, however, cutting its deficit to 64-63 on another 3 by Schauer.

The Bulldogs eventually broke through for good with less than five minutes to go, taking their largest lead of the night, 79-68, after a dagger 3 by Caiden Hermann and a pair of free throws by Schauer with less than two minutes to play.