No. 1 Hopkins 71, Owatonna 57

Top-seeded Hopkins moved another step closer to its third straight Class AAAA title, beating a scrappy Owatonna team in the quarterfinals at Target Center. Marvin Singleton racked up a double-double (20 points, 16 rebounds), leading the Royals on the boards.  Hopkins outrebounded the Huskies 35-27, including 15 on the offensive glass. Joe Coleman added 20 points and Siyani Chambers (12) and Zach Stahl (11) each scored in double figures for the Royals (29-1).  Owatonna (24-5) was paced by Vaughn Thada with 24 points, while Drew Osmundson chipped in with 14.

To read the MN Basketball Hub / Star-Tribune coverage of the game, please click on this link.

No. 4 Cretin-Derham Hall 68, Duluth East 49

Taylor Montero posted a double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds) to pace fourth-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall over Duluth East in the Class AAAA quarterfinals at Target Center. Montero had 14 in the second half as the Raiders (23-7) pulled away from the 'Hounds (22-7).  Cretin's defense held East to just 27.9 percent shooting from the field (17-of-61), but the 'Hounds held a 42-36 rebounding advantage.  Joining Montero in double figures for Cretin were Cortez Tillman (17) and Raijon Kelly (13).  Johnny Woodard paced East with 16 points and four steals, while Taylor Stafford had 11 points and seven rebounds and Matt Rogotzke had eight points and eight rebounds.

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No. 2 Eden Prairie 79, Lakeville South 75

Second-seeded Eden Prairie held on for a tight victory over Lakeville South in the Class AAAA quarterfinals at Target Center. Connor Nord blocked a tying layup attempt by South's Alex Richter with 15 seconds remaining and Jack Klukas hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Eagles (26-4). Nord (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Dylan Stewart (23 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded a double-double for Eden Prairie, whlie Klukas (13 points) and Grant Soderberg (10 points) each scored in double digits. Lakeville South (21-9) had a big scoring effort from both Richter (33 points) and Jon Christensen (25 points) in a losing effort.

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No. 3 Osseo 72, Maple Grove 60

With Osseo beating Maple Grove in the final Class AAAA quarterfinal at Target Center, all four top seeds move on to the semifinals. The Orioles (28-2) got a great inside-outside punch from Terez VanPelt, who poured in a game-high 28 points, and Joey Sonnenfeld with 20 points and eight rebounds.  Maple Grove (18-11) was paced by Brycen Wojita (17 points) and Skylar Ellingson (15 points).

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New Prague 83, No. 1 St. Paul Johnson 77

The big dog on the block is gone. Top-seeded and defending state champion St. Paul Johnson fell to New Prague in a Class AAA quarterfinal at Williams Arena that fits into the March madness storybook. The Trojans (24-6) overcame a  seven-point deficit with 5:12 remaining by going on a 21-4 run -- then hanging on as the Governers (24-4) pushed hard in the closing minute. New Prague shot 14-of-23 from three-point range (60.9 percent), including a perfect 5-for-5 effort from Joe Hatch, who had 24 points. Jed Kreuser (16 points), Trevor O'Brien (15 points, 9 rebounds), Alex Dittberner (13 points, 8 assists) and Cale Girten (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Trojans. Marcus Marshall led the Governors with 24 points, while Estan Tyler (22 points, 6 assists) and Roosevelt Scott (11) chipped in with good offensive games before fouling out.

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No. 4 Columbia Heights 77, Marshall 59

Marshall held Columbia Heights star Zach Lofton below his season scoring average, but the Hylanders had plenty to cruise by the Tigers in the Class AAA quarterfinals at Williams Arena. Lofton still had a game-high 25 points (he averages 30) and six assists for Columbia Heights (24-6). Ben Glover (20 points) and Keanu Glover (15 points) gave the Hylanders three big scoring options. Marshall (21-9) was paced by Collin Hoover (20 points, 11 rebounds), Ben Sanders (19 points) and Caleb Johnson (11 points, 8 rebounds).

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No. 2 Waconia 62, Grand Rapids 52

Second-seeded Waconia raced out to a big lead early in the game and held off pesky Grand Rapids in the Class AAA quarterfinals at Williams Arena. With Vanderbilt-bound Shelby Moats (12 points, 13 rebounds) leading the early charge, the Wildcats (22-7) jumped up to a 16-4 lead less than seven minutes in -- with Moats netting 10 points in the run. Wylie Ferron (16 points) and Alex Schmitt (15 points) joined Moats in double figures for Waconia. Austin Pohlen led Grand Rapids (19-9) with 14 points and nine assists, but shot just 3-of-20 from the field. Eighth-grade center Alex Illikainen chipped in with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

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No. 3 Orono 67, St. Cloud Apollo 62 OT

Third-seeded Orono overcame an 18-point deficit (43-25) with 14:11 remaining to shock St. Cloud Apollo in overtime of the Class AAA quarterfinals at Williams Arena. Jordan Smith scored six of his game-high 29 points in overtime for the Spartans (26-4). Jeremy Borg, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with 12 points and eight boards and Daniel Drew chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.  Apollo (25-5) had four double-figure scorers: Simon Krych (17 points, 14 rebounds), Ibrahim Abukar (16), Blake Maslonkowski (14) and Derek Steve (10).

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Rochester Lourdes 45, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 37

Shane McGrath led a balanced scoring attack as Rochester Lourdes stopped Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in the Class AA quarterfinals at Target Center. McGrath pumped in 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Eagles (23-7), who also received 13 points from Alex Kapraun and 10 from Chris Eickemeyer. LPGE (25-5) was paced by Duane Miller's 15 points (on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range, 6-of-12 overall). Mitch Branby added nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

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Redwood Valley 70, Minnehaha Academy 65

The dynamic duo of Michael Busack and J.T. Radel combined for 51 points as Redwood Valley powered past Minnehaha Academy in the Class AA quarterfinals at Target Center. The teams combined for seven ties and seven lead changes in a back-and-forth second half. Busack recorded a double-double with 28 points and 19 rebounds and Radel added 23 points and four assists for the Cardinals (22-7). Minnehaha Academy (17-13) had four scorers in double figures: Gerald McCarver (17 points), John Pryor (15), Marcellous Hazzard (12) and Asante Simmons (12).

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Perham 57, Virginia 40

With Zach Gabbard in the house to cheer on his teammates, Perham rolled to a big first-half lead and cruised past Virginia in the Class AA quarterfinals at Williams Arena. Gabbard, who almost died of cardiac arrest at a game in January, was given leave from the hospital to attend the game and received a rousing cheer from fans when he was introduced. Then the Yellowjackets (29-1) gave him an even bigger present, racing to a 38-14 halftime lead on the Blue Devils (26-5). Jordan Cresap scored a game-high 19 points, while Nick Tobkin and Sam Stratton added 13 points each for Perham, which shot 53.3 percent on threes (8-of-15). Cavan Stackpool led Virginia with 12 points, although he was just 1-of-10 from outside the arc.

To read the MN Basketball Hub / Star-Tribune coverage of the game, please click on this link.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 61, Zimmerman 58

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to edge Zimmerman in the Class AA quarterfinals at Williams Arena. The Thunder (22-9) had three shots at tying the game in the final seconds, but missed three treys as time wound down. Tate Harmon led the Buccaneers (29-2) with 21 points -- 15 in the second half -- and Conrad Masberg chipped in with 18 points. Blake Ehley (17 points), Jake Wilson (12) and Brandon Giese (11) scored in double figures for Zimmerman.

To read the MN Basketball Hub / Star-Tribune coverage of the game, please click on this link.

 Minnesota Boys Basketball Hub
The crew at the the MN Boys Basketball Hub, in conjunction with the Star Tribune, is featuring coverage at the tournament this season. Check out their main tournament page to keep on top of all the action.

John's Journal
For those interested in former Star Tribune writer John Millea and his thoughts with the MSHSL, he's blogging from the girls' state tournament this weekend.  Just go to the main MSHSL site and hit the tab for "John's Journal." 

Fox video interviews
The FoxPreps.com gang is doing a great job on their website, covering the 2011 state tournament.  Click on the link for additional news and interviews from the games.

Adding a little spice to the tournament, the Breakdown's Justin Hegna looked into his crystal ball to come up with tournament predictions. You may agree or you may disagree, so put your thoughts into our comment streams and vote in our polls below.

Class AAAA

Quarterfinals
Hopkins over Owatonna
Cretin-DH over Duluth East
Lakeville South over Eden Prairie
Osseo over Maple Grove

Semifinals
Hopkins over Cretin-DH
Lakeville South over Osseo

Finals
Hopkins over Lakeville South

Class AAA

Quarterfinals
StP Johnson over New Prague
Columbia Hgts over Marshall
Grand Rapids over Waconia
Orono over St. Cloud Apollo

Semifinals
StP Johnson over Columbia Hgts
Orono over Grand Rapids

Finals
StP Johnson over Orono

Class AA

Quarterfinals
LPGE over Rochester Lourdes
Redwood Valley over Minnehaha
Perham over Virginia
W-E-M over Zimmerman

Semifinals
Redwood Valley over LPGE
W-E-M over Perham

Finals
W-E-M over Redwood Valley