EAST LANSING — The seniors on the Traverse City St. Francis boys basketball team are going to have to change their spring break plans. 

Senior and leading scorer Wyatt Nausadis said a group of seniors on the team were originally supposed to leave later Thursday for a spring break trip to Destin, Fla., but a little something got in the way. 

That “little something” was a Division 3 Semifinal win over Niles Brandywine, as the Gladiators earned a 46-36 triumph. 

The victory advanced St. Francis to Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game against Flint Beecher, a development that will shorten the spring break trip in a good way. 

“When was departure supposed to be?” St. Francis head coach Sean Finnegan said to his players in the postgame press conference. 

“Today,” Nausadis said. 

Finnegan then asked “When will departure now be?”

Nausadis then responded, “Sunday.”

Finnegan then smiled and said “perfect.”

The Gladiators hope their appearance in the Basketball Final will end differently than the Division 7 Football Final in November, when St. Francis lost to Jackson Lumen Christi, 15-12. 

“It would mean a lot,” said Nausadis, who was the quarterback on the football team. “Going into this school year, our goal was to win both football and basketball. We fell short in football. That first week of basketball was pretty rough for me and all the other football players. It was hard to enjoy. Once we started playing, we all were like, ‘It’s time to buy into this. Let’s win a state championship in this one. We’re one step closer.” 

Defense and Nausadis were the big edges Thursday for St. Francis, which limited Brandywine to 36.4-percent shooting from the field overall and a 2-of-13 performance from 3-point range. 

The Gladiators also held a 36-24 rebounding advantage. 

“Defense is our staple,” Finnegan said. “That’s where we put our pride and joy. Maybe not joy all the time, but that’s our pride. I believe we’ve given up over 40 one time in the tournament so far. We put a lot of attention and a lot of detail there. Our offense gets a lot easier when our defense is working and clicking how it should.”

Offensively, Nausadis led the way with 21 points and seven rebounds for St. Francis (24-4). 

Junior Jaremiah Palmer scored eight points to lead Brandywine (25-3), which was playing in the program's first Semifinal. 

“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Brandywine head coach Nathan Knapp said. “We couldn’t finish some shots tonight. They didn’t go our way. I’m happy with these kids and the season they’ve had. It’s been an amazing run, and they play hard.”

Leading by three with 7:28 remaining, St. Francis scored six straight to grab a 41-32 lead with 3:11 left. 

Brandywine scored four straight to cut its deficit to five with 2:08 remaining, but a free throw by Nausadis with just under a minute left made it 42-36 St. Francis.

Following a Brandywine turnover, Nausadis hit another free throw with 49.4 seconds left to give St. Francis a seven-point lead.

After another Brandywine turnover, St. Francis all but sealed the game when John Hagelstein made a layup with 33.8 seconds left to make it 45-36 Gladiators. 

St. Francis now will turn its attention to the juggernaut that is Beecher.

However, the Gladiators enter with confidence not only because of their familiarity with the big stage after football season, but also because they played several larger schools during the summer and regular season.

Canton and Detroit Cass Tech are Division 1 schools St. Francis played at home this year. 

“I think that’s prepared them,” Finnegan said. “They know they can play with any team in the state. We just have to keep believing that and proving that when it happens.

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PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis’ Wyatt Nausadis gets a hand up as Brandywine’s Nylen Goins pulls up for a jumper Thursday. (Middle) Brandywine’s Jaremiah Palmer (3) defends as the Gladiators’ John Hagelstein works for a shot.