Last March, Benilde-St. Margaret's watched its season end at the hands of a halfcourt miracle.

With his Orono team down 84-83, guard Nolan Groves chucked up a deep three-pointer in double overtime of the Class 3A, Section 6 championship. With a buzzer-beating swish, the Red Knights' hopes of reaching state for the first time since 2006 were dashed — and by the Spartans, for the second consecutive year.

"That was the craziest moment I've ever experienced in a basketball game," said Benilde-St. Margaret's senior power forward Jalen Wilson, ESPN's No. 1-ranked player in his class. "But I think that has helped us a lot this year. We have that edge. The game's never over."

Though Thursday was only a regular-season rematch for the No. 2 Red Knights and No. 3 Spartans, the standing-room-only gym suggested something deeper. A testing ground, for two of Minnesota's best.

And this time, Benilde-St. Margaret's came out on top, 76-72.

The Red Knights were up two when sophomore Milton Nuahn defended Groves tightly on the Spartans' final possession. Instead of letting Groves step back for a game-winner, Nauhn drove Groves into Wilson, who came away with a steal, forcing the Spartans (12-4) to foul.

Senior Jaleel Donley led the Red Knights (14-1) with 19 points, scoring seven in a back-and-forth final three minutes. Senior TJ Stuttley netted 17.

Groves, leading the state with 33.4 points per game, did everything he could to replicate last year's heroics. But his 45 points, plus 14 from senior Brady Wooley, weren't enough to outpace the Red Knights' balanced scoring attack through a tight second half.

Two consecutive seasons falling short of state by one game will give any team extra motivation. As will having four seniors in the starting lineup — "It's now or never," said Donley.

Wilson, a Northern Iowa commit averaging 21.9 points per game, put it plainly: "We've been through so much on the court, off the court, and I just want that for us."

In August, Wilson's father, Silas, passed away from cancer. He was a regular in the Red Knights' gym and in the basketball community.

"Everybody on the team loved him just as much as I did," said Wilson, who had eight points Thursday.

"Like an uncle," said Donley. "Now that he's gone, it's just a different feeling. We're playing with a different purpose."

Both teams honored a moment of silence before the game for Silas, as well as for Lucas Knudson, an Orono teammate who passed away in an auto accident in November.

Looking for their first state title, the Red Knights are well aware that a regular-season matchup is not the grand prize — though it gives them the edge in the Metro West Conference race.

After all, last regular season they had dominated 2011 state champ Orono in 29- and 17-point victories.

"We ain't checked off nothing," said head coach Damian Johnson, a former Gopher who has elevated the Benilde-St. Margaret's program since he took over five years ago. "The story isn't over until the end of the season."

A rematch is set for the penultimate game of the regular season, Feb. 25. And, of course, there is the Section 6 playoff rematch that might follow but feels inevitable.