Championship: No. 1 Hopkins 64, No. 2 Eden Prairie 52

The three-peat is complete. Top-seeded and top-ranked Hopkins earned revenge for its only loss of the season by beating second-seeded Eden Prairie in the Class AAAA championship game at Target Center, 64-52. The Royals have won the past three big-school titles, the first time its happened in Class AAAA since the MHSHL went to four classes in 1997. Joe Coleman, who led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds, celebrated in the closing seconds by holding up three fingers, one for each title. Marvin Singleton (15 points), Zach Stahl (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Siyani Chambers (12 points, 5 assists) all scored in double-figures for Hopkins (31-1). Eden Prairie (27-5) had just one player in double figures, Grant Soderberg with 16 points. The Eagles did hold a 27-21 rebounding edge, but were done in by the Royals' hot shooting (25-of-44 for 56.8 percent) and 16 turnovers.

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

Third place: No. 3 Osseo 61, No. 4 Cretin-Derham Hall 47

Joey Sonnenfeld poured in 23 points to lead third-seeded Osseo to a 61-47 victory over No. 4 Cretin-Derham Hall in the Class AAAA third-place game at Concordia University. The Orioles (29-3) opened up a 12-point halftime lead (28-16) and held off a late rally by the Raiders (23-9). Ian Theisen added 10 points and Terez VanPelt had 8 points and 6 assists for Osseo. Taylor Montero led Cretin with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Cortez Tillman chipped in with 12 points and C.J. Neumann added 8 points and 9 rebounds.

Championship: No. 3 Orono 85, No. 4 Columbia Heights 76

Brady Wohler scored six of his game-high 23 points during a 16-3 spurt to lead third-seeded Orono to an 85-76 victory over fourth-seeded Columbia Heights in the Class AAA state championship game at Target Center. With the score tied at 54-54 with 9:51 remaining, the Spartans (27-4) went on their state title-winning run. Columbia Heights immediately responded with a 9-0 run, five from Zach Lofton, to cut the lead to four, but Orono held on from there. Jordan Smith added 21 points and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line for the Spartans, while Erik Peterson had a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Jeremy Borg scored 19. Lofton led Columbia Heights (25-7) with 19 points and Ben Glover and Jordan Mills added 17 points each. Mills posted 11 rebounds for a double-double.

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

Third place: No. 2 Waconia 58, New Prague 53

Behind a balanced offensive attack, second-seeded Waconia downed New Prague in the Class AAA third-place game at Concordia University, 58-53. The Wildcats (23-8) led by 10 at the half and held off a late Trojans (24-8) rally. Bronson Scheff paced four players in double-figures for Waconia with 15 points. Alex Schmitt (14 points, 5 assists), Shelby Moats (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Ben Kortuem (10 points) joined him in double-figures. Trevor O'Brien (13 points) and Jed Kreuser (12 points) paced New Prague.

Championship: Perham 45, Rochester Lourdes 37

The storybook season -- one that came with more than a little adversity -- is complete. And it ended with a title.  With their teammate Zach Gabbard on their minds and his number of the backs of their warmups, Perham (31-1) celebrated a 45-37 victory over Rochester Lourdes (24-8) in the Class AA championship game at Target Center. Nick Tobkin led the way with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Jordan Cresap chipped in with 12 points and Sam Stratton had 9 points and 12 rebounds. The Yellowjackets sealed the victory with an 18-2 run that turned a 23-22 deficit into a 40-25 lead with 3:28 remaining. Tobkin capped the run with a trey that sent the crowd -- and his bench -- into a frenzy. Chris Eickemeyer (12 points), Alex Kapraun (10 points) and Shane McGrath (9 points, 11 rebounds) led Lourdes.

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

Third place: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 67, Redwood Valley 64

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown rallied past Redwood Valley in the second half to claim the Class A third-place game at Concordia University, 67-64. The Buccaneers (30-3) trailed at the half, but built up a nine-point lead in the final minute. Michael Busack hit three treys in the final 30 seconds for Redwood Valley (22-9), but the deficit was too great. Grant Pope and Tate Harmon led W-E-M with 19 points each (Pope added 10 assists), while Conrad Masberg had 13 points.  Busack (25 points, 14 rebounds) and J.T. Radel (21 points, 6 assists) paced Redwood Valley.

Championship: Springfield 70, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 58

Upset-minded Springfield ruined the perfect season of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, surging past the Jaguars in the Class A championship game at Target Center, 70-58. Jesse Kieper scored a game-high 25 points for the Tigers (26-3) while Dillon Schultz (17 points, 7 rebounds), Alex Fink (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Tyler Marz (7 points, 12 rebounds) added to the Tigers' balanced attack. Springfield broke open a one-point game with 5:33 remaining, going on an 8-0 run over just 1 minute, 42 seconds, capped by Ryan Beyer's layup. B-B-E (32-1) never got within five points the rest of the way, suffering its first loss of the season. Kevin Kuefler (20 points, 20 rebounds) and Connor Goodwin (12 points, 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the Jaguars.

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

Third place: MACCRAY 72,  Chisholm 53

MACCRAY broke out to a big early lead and cruised to victory in the Class A third-place game at Concordia University. The Wolverines (28-4) used a 12-0 run to take a 20-8 lead just 7 minutes, 31 seconds into the first half and Chisholm (28-5) wasn't able to recover.  Seth Hinrichs (21 points, 12 rebounds) led four Wolverines in double-figures, a list that included Corey Abbas (15), Brady Boike (15) and Riley Aeikens (14). Senior Adam Vake (12 points, 7 rebounds) led Chisholm, while Blayne Waselk chipped in with 10 points.

 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