Down by one, Shaq hits a shot from near half-court at the buzzer to send Duluth East boys basketball team to the 2012 state tournament in a hard fought game with Blaine for the section 7AAAA final.

Both teams battled hard, keeping the score close throughout the game. Tanner Schumacher hit three, 3-point shots, late in the first half to send Blaine into the locker room with a 41-34 halftime lead.

Defensive pressure dominated the second half, allowing Duluth East the edge 30-21. Alex Cappard would give Blaine a one-point lead with 5 seconds remaining when Duluth East called a time out. Matt Lochner gave the inbound pass to Shaq Coleman who had to work his way down the court with time ticking away. At the last second, Coleman took his shot from near half court and hit the three-point as the buzzer sounded to give the Greyhounds a 64-62 win over Blaine Bengals.

Duluth East advanced to the state tournament with a 20-8 record. Coleman shared with me in an interview, his thoughts on the game winning shot and team performance going forward.

Hopkins to defend state championship title with a 69-55 win over Edina in section 6AAAA final in Osseo.

The first half was pretty evenly matched with Hopkins up 35-26. Kamali Chambers had some great defensive plays while Siyani Chambers worked the paint for the Royals. Edina’s Graham Woodward kept his team in the game with his offensive pressure.

Jacob Wright hit six three-point shots to help rally Hopkins in the second half. Reggie Lynch had a nice block on the Royals Jamal Davis just before getting a dunk for the Hornets. Edina struggled in the last ten minutes allowing Hopkins to win 69-55.

Hopkins heads to state with a near perfect record, 27-1. Royals Coach Ken Novak, Jr. shared a few words on the performance of his team.

Strong Goaltending for St. Thomas Academy propels them to a 5-1 victory over Hermantown in St. Paul to win the Class A championship game. This was Hermantown’s third consecutive trip to the championship game without claiming a victory.

First period action had St. Thomas Academy up by two. Goals by Matt Perry at 2:53 and Alex Johnson at 5:42 gave St. Thomas Academy an early lead. Hard-hitting and strong defense became the new game plan for the Cadets.

St. Thomas Academy scored three more goals in the second period before Hermantown’s Jared Kolquist put one in at 11:34 on the power play. His goal came when the Cadets had two men in the penalty box.

St. Thomas Academy dealt Hermantown their first and only loss on the season.

It was an exciting class AA match up between Hill-Murray and Maple Grove at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. Hill-Murray advanced with a 5-2 victory over Maple Grove in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.

Heavy hitting set the tone early in the first period when team captain Charlie Sampair of the Pioneer’s checked Shane Wolden into Hill-Murray’s bench. Alex Mason put Maple Grove on the scoreboard first with his wrist shot at 3:19. Hill-Murray scored two quick goals at 7:27 and 8:05 to end the first period up 2-1. All goals in the first period came at even strength.

Hill-Murray scored twice in the second period to take a 4-1 lead. Their third-goal by Zach LaValle at 10:19. Charlie Sampair scored a power play goal at 13:11 for the Pioneers after Freemark was given two minutes for tripping.

Each team traded a goal in the third period to bring this 5-2 game to a close. Hill-Murray advanced to the class AA semifinal game.

Hopkins advanced after tonight’s impressive triple digit score over Minneapolis Southwest 105-45. Possession basketball was head coach Novak’s style and it has developed a lot of depth for this team. Wright, Stribling, and Stahl moved the ball around well with the help of the Chambers’ brothers.

From start to finish, Hopkins was in control of this game. Nicholas Jorgensen had an impressive unanswered seven-point streak in the first half. Turnovers from the intense defensive pressure were just too costly for Southwest.

Senior point guard for the Royals and Mr. Basketball 2012 contender, Siyani Chambers talked about his team, their play and Coach Novak in an interview.

Hopkins (25-1) will play in the 6AAAA semifinals March 12 at Osseo High School.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys basketball team edged out Totino-Grace 66-45 to remain undefeated in conference play. The big difference in this game was Sanjay Lumpkin;  rebounds, free throws, three-point shots, steals and a slam dunk lead the Red Knights to victory.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is rated number four in the state. Lumpkin has commited to Northwestern.

Solid goal tending on both ends of the rink kept this game scoreless until late in the third period. Riley Tousignant scored with a nice wrist shot at 13:03, to put the Panthers on the scoreboard. The Skippers’ swarmed the net and Sidney Morin was able to tie the game at 16:39.

Amy Peterson of Minnetonka brought the puck up the near side, around a Lakeville North defender and scored the game-winning goal on a nice wrist shot over the goalies right shoulder.

Defending state champions, Minnetonka Skippers advance to the championship game to face Roseville at the Excel Energy Center. Final score 2-1 (OT).

Penalties proved costly for Edina at the state tournament semifinal game with Roseville.

Raiders Sarah Knowlton scored the first goal of the game with a rebound in front of the net at the16:00 mark of the second period, taking advantage of their power play. A quick wrist shot, thirty-eight seconds later by Kate Flug, sent the Raiders into the second intermission up 2-0.

Roseville would score at the 1:11 mark of the third period on a goal by Jordan Capeti. Edina gets their first goal of the game midway through the third period when Anna Bartz would score on the power play. Hornet’s fans celebrated with the wave. Edina pulled their goalie in the last minute and which allowed Kate Flug to get her second goal on the empty net for the Raiders at 16:04. Roseville wins 4-1 over Edina.

Roseville advances to the state championship game to play defending champions, Minnetonka Skippers at the Excel Energy Center.

Hey Yokal Sports fan’s, 2012 Minnesota State Girls Hockey Tournament selection is underway. Minnetonka and Benilde-St. Margaret’s went head to head for the section 6AA championship, the winner moves on to state.

Didn’t see a lot of action in the first period until Minnetonka’s #9 Amy Peterson picked up a pass from #16 Laura Bowman on the power play and found the back of the net for the Skippers at 16:17. Both teams were pretty even with shots on goal favoring Benilde 6-5.

We pick up the game with a goal celebration midway through the second period when #7 Liv Halvorson evens the game up at one a piece. Benilde-St. Margaret’s dominated most of the play in the second period, out shooting Minnetonka 11-5.

The third period was much like the second, BSM kept the pressure on and it looked like they were going to take the lead a few times until a penalty is called at 15:27. Minnetonka, on the power play, had a few chances to find the net but Benilde-St. Margret’s goal tender, Abigail Miller came up with some key saves.

In overtime, BSM had a great scoring opportunity early from the slot, but the puck was pushed just wide of the net. It was Minnetonka’s turn a few minutes later, with a face off deep in Benilde-St. Margret’s zone. Minnetonka wins the draw and #4 Diana Draayer puts it in off of #16 Laura Bowmans rebound for the win.

Minnetonka advances to state with a 2-1 overtime win.