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Apple Valley goes through Rosemount to secure its third straight state tournament bid

By Nick Gerhardt, SportsEngine , 03/16/17, 8:30AM CDT

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After the first half ended in a 36-36 tie, it was the Eagles who pulled away in the second half.




Apple Valley coach Zach Goring (left) avoiding the battle Tre Jones (right) and Rosemount's Myka Edmond (center) had in the Class 4A Section 3 championship. Jones finished with 23 points and Edmonds had 17. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

It’s tough to catch up with Apple Valley once it finds a moment to strike.

The top-seeded Eagles captured their third straight Class 4A, Section 3 championship with a 72-60 victory over third-seeded Rosemount Thursday at Farmington High School behind a sprint out of the halftime break.

Apple Valley (27-2) is headed back to state after breaking open a 36-36 game at halftime.

Rosemount’s tandem of 6-foot, 8-inch Alec and Luke Loehr tried to deny Apple Valley and Tre Jones from reaching the state tournament to no avail.

Jones went for 23 points to go with eight assists and eight rebounds to pace the Eagles, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Though the Loehrs couldn’t stop Apple Valley and Jones, it didn’t mean they didn’t come close. Alec scored 18 points of his 24 points in the first half, including hitting three three-pointers. He helped the Irish (15-14) build a 36-32 lead with 38 seconds left in the first half. Alec also had 11 rebounds.

“He went on a little bit of a run by himself to keep us in the basketball game,” Rosemount coach Keenan Shelton said.

Apple Valley used a 12-2 run to open up a 10-point lead and Mohamed Kone got going with seven points early in the second half.

“They go on a run and it’s tough to catch up,” Shelton said. “We got it to five and had an opportunity but didn’t capitalize. They’re a good team and they’re going to put you away if you don’t capitalize.”

Kone finished with 15 points for the Eagles, nine of which came in the second half. Kone went seven of eight from the field and helped Apple Valley force 13 turnovers.

“I think Mohamed Kone played the best game he’s played all year,” Apple Valley coach Zach Goring said. “He’s come out of nowhere. He was a JV (junior varsity) guy for us last year. He came up through the system and this year he’s a starter and an all-conference player.”

Kone and the rest of the Eagles helped keep the lead, especially late. Apple Valley saw an 11-point lead dwindle to five with 5:38 remaining and Jones picked up his fourth foul 22 seconds later.

Jones came back out of a timeout to knock down a jumper and extend the lead to seven. Meanwhile Nathan Macho, Luke Martens and Kone converted shots down the stretch to build the lead up to nine with 1:32 left.

The Eagles head to the state tournament with two losses this season -- second-ranked Maple Grove and top-ranked Champlin Park. Since those losses Apple Valley has focused on defense.

“Both games we were able to score with Champlin and Maple Grove but we weren’t able to stop them,” Goring said. “Our focus throughout the season has been getting back defensively and trying to be a great defensive club. We feel like we can score and stay with almost anyone. It’s whether or not we can get stops.”

The Eagles seek a lengthier run at the state tournament after bowing out in last year’s semifinals to Hopkins in an 84-59 loss.

First Report

Top-seeded Apple Valley captured its third straight Class 4A, Section 3 championship with a 72-60 victory over third-seeded Rosemount Thursday at Farmington High School.

The Eagles (27-2) seek a lengthier run at the state tournament after bowing out in last year’s semifinals to Hopkins in an 84-59 loss.

Not even Rosemount’s tandem of Alec and Luke Loehr could stop Apple Valley and Tre Jones from reaching the state tournament.

Jones went for 23 points to go with eight assists and eight rebounds to pace the Eagles, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Though the Loehrs couldn’t stop Apple Valley and Jones, it didn’t mean they didn’t come close. Alec scored 18 points of his 24 points in the first half, including hitting three three-pointers. He helped the Irish (15-14) build a 36-32 lead with 38 seconds left in the first half. Alec also had 11 rebounds.

But Jones hit a jumper with less than five seconds left making it a 36-36 game at halftime.

Apple Valley used a 9-2 run to open things up and Mohamed Kone got going with seven points early in the second half.

The Eagles won both regular season meetings against Rosemount, 75-57 on Feb. 10 and 62-42 on Jan. 10.

Myka Edmond finished with 17 points for Rosemount and Luke had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Kone finished with 15 points, nine of which came in the second half, for Apple Valley and Luke Martens had 12 points.


Apple Valley's Tre Jones drives on Rosemount defenders on Thursday, March 16. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine



Rosemount senior Myka Edmond (13) takes Apple Valley defender Tre Jones to the basket in their Class 4A, Section 3 championship game on March 16. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine


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