Hopkins pushed to limit

"Survival."

The first word uttered by Hopkins boys' basketball coach Ken Novak Jr. after his team outlasted Woodbury for an 82-75 overtime victory said a lot.

No. 1-ranked Hopkins, winners of the past three Class 4A state tournament titles, got 25 points from senior guard Siyani Chambers in Wednesday's boys' basketball state quarterfinal victory at Target Center.

Chambers, a Star Tribune first-team All-Metro selection, scored 22 of his points from the free-throw line. Conversely, Woodbury shot 50 percent as a team, missing the front ends of one-and-ones twice with about one minute remaining in regulation.

"Every game we've lost except for maybe one has been because of [missed free throws]," Woodbury coach Scott Swansson said. "I don't know if it got to be a head thing or what."

Chambers kept his head clear despite missing a jump shot that would have won the game in regulation. He acknowledged making a "mental error" when he did not drive to the basket.

All was forgiven as Chambers went a perfect 10-for-10 on his free-throw attempts in overtime.

"We've got Siyani and he's our leader," said senior guard Demetrius Martin, who led Hopkins with 17 first-half points. "He brought us all together and let us know we're still in this and not to give up."

Osseo 62, Duluth East 51

Duluth East vs. Osseo

Class 4A quarterfinals of the 2012 state tournament. Photos by Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Facing a four-point halftime deficit against Duluth East, Osseo players talked in the locker room about making changes on the floor and between the ears.

The No. 4 seed Orioles (28-2) responded with a game-changing run in the second half.

"I can't tell you a key or specific thing we did, we just played better," Osseo senior guard DJ Hebert said. "We had nothing to hold back. I just told the guys that they aren't better than us."

Hebert said his team got caught "looking for somebody else to make a play" throughout a tentative first half. Trailing 27-23 at halftime, Osseo reeled off a 19-6 run and built a secure 10-point lead.

It was a team effort. Hebert scored eight of his game-high 18 points, with Michael Brush (five points), Will Johnson (four points) and Bridgeport Tusler (two points) each chipping in. Tusler and sophomore center Ian Theisen each finished with 11 points.

Osseo got tougher inside, allowing the Greyhounds just three of their 13 offensive rebounds in the second half. And the Orioles bench added nine points to finish with an 11-3 advantage over the Duluth East reserves.

Taylor Stafford scored 17 points to lead the Greyhounds (20-9). Shaq Coleman and Johnny Woodard each added 12 points.

Eden Prairie 75, Eastview 68 (OT)

Eastview vs. Eden Prairie

Class 4A quarterfinals of the 2012 state tournament. Photos by Kyndell Harkness, Star Tribune

Grant Shaeffer, take a bow.

The Eden Prairie junior guard scored 29 of the Eagles' final 37 points to almost single-handedly will his team past No. 3 seed Eastview 75-68 in overtime in the Class 4A quarterfinals Wednesday at Target Center.

He had just two points at halftime, but during the break Shaeffer's pregame snack of bananas and a sports drink must have kicked in.

Shaeffer finished with a career-high 41 points. Nine came on three-pointers on the Eagles' final three possessions of regulation, the last sneaking through the hoop with 0.4 seconds remaining to force overtime.

He's no stranger to the big stage. Shaeffer started at quarterback for Eden Prairie this fall, guiding the team to the Class 5A football title in November.

Wednesday's performance, more than 30 points above his average, kept the basketball Eagles (23-7) on pace for an appearance in a second consecutive Class 4A championship game.

"We needed someone to make shots, and I ended up being that guy," Shaeffer said in a nod to injured regular starters Andre Wallace (wrist, ankle) and Jack Cottrell (back), who spent most of the game on the bench and finished with no points. "The hoop looked huge. It was just a ton of fun out there. Everything I was shooting was going in."

Eden Prairie trailed 51-48 with 2 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in regulation before Shaeffer took over.

In overtime, he scored the first nine points en route to 14 in the extra time.

"Just an unbelievable show of heart," Eagles coach David Flom said. "His threes were ridiculous; pretty deep. He's obviously a gamer."

Shaeffer's three at the buzzer, with two Eastview fouls to give, was a backbreaker.

"If that shot is an inch or so off, we're the ones who are smiling," Lightning coach Mark Gerber said.

Charged with two fouls in the first three minutes of the game, Eastview juggernaut Joey King sat the majority of the first half before eventually scoring a team-high 27 points.

-- Brian Stensaas

Lakeville North 61, Moorhead 55

Lakeville North vs. Moorhead

Class 4A quarterfinals of the 2012 state tournament. Photos by Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Lakeville North had the luxury of bringing two Division I athletes off the bench Wednesday.

Those players, Tyler David and Tyler Flack, paid huge dividends as the No. 2 seed Panthers outlasted Moorhead at Target Center.

David, who will play soccer at St. Louis University, and Flack, who signed to play basketball at South Dakota, combined for 17 points in the second half after not scoring in the first half. They provided an 8-0 spurt that gave Lakeville North some juice.

"I feel like I can bring energy to this team," David said. "When it's my turn to shoot, I'm willing to take the shots and hit them."

"He's a guy that doesn't score in the first half but in the second half he's looks like a 20-point-per-game scorer because he's so confident," Panthers coach John Oxton said.

David hit a free throw to give Lakeville North (29-1) a 52-50 lead with two minutes, 22 seconds to play. But the Spuds (18-10) were not yet deflated.

"With two minutes left, we were ecstatic to be that close," Moorhead's Austin Nelson said.

Flack hit a turnaround jumper to give the Panthers a four-point lead with one minute and 33 seconds to play.

-- David La Vaque

Hopkins pushed to limit

Class 4A: The three-time defending state champions finally put away Woodbury in overtime and will next face Osseo.