COON RAPIDS (9-11) AT DULUTH EAST (15-3)
What: Section 7AAAA championship
When: 7 p.m.
Outlook: The fifth-seeded Cardinals shocked top-seeded Andover 54-50 in the semifinals Tuesday night as Armanti Henry and Elijah Smith scored 14 points apiece. Coon Rapids is not very deep but its starting five all average in double figures, led by M.J. Galimah (16.8 points per game) and Smith (15.2). Coon Rapids did not play East during the 2021 regular season, though the Greyhounds won 66-56 last season. The Cardinals’ lone state tournament berth came in 1983 when Tom Copa was named Mr. Basketball. … The second-seeded Greyhounds took care of business with a 67-57 semifinal win over Forest Lake, the team’s sixth consecutive victory and 13th in the last 14 games since suffering back-to-back losses to Class AAA No. 1 Minnehaha Academy. Mattie Thompson took over with a season-high 31 points. Thompson and fellow Minnesota Duluth signee Noah Paulson (17.6 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game), the 6-foot-9 center who is a Mr. Basketball semifinalist, are the team’s leading scorers. East is seeking a 14th section title and first since 2012. The Greyhounds lost in the 2020 section title game to Cambridge-Isanti.
HIBBING (15-3) AT PRINCETON (18-1)
What: Section 7AAA championship
When: 7 p.m.
Outlook: The second-seeded Bluejackets ousted Cloquet 69-50 in the semifinals Tuesday as leading scorer Ayden McDonald (17.6 ppg, 11.7 assists per game) totaled 27 points and eight assists in the team’s sixth win in a row. Tre Holmes (15.4 ppg) and Mayson Brown (15.1 ppg) show little hesitancy shooting from long range, combining for 102 made 3-pointers this season. Parker Maki (12.4 ppg, 7.9 rebounds per game) is a force inside. Sixth-ranked Hibbing didn’t play unranked Princeton this season and its lone losses came to No. 1 Minnehaha Academy (twice) and in a split with Duluth East. The Bluejackets have reached 10 state tournaments but none since 1989 when current coach Joel McDonald was a sophomore at neighboring Chisholm. … The No. 1-seeded Tigers won their 17th straight with a 73-66 semifinal victory over Grand Rapids. Leading scorer Haydn Stay (21.6 ppg) tossed in 25 points. Callahan O’Neill (16.5 ppg) and Cooper Drews (16.1 ppg) are other consistent scorers for the highest-scoring team (85.3 ppg) in Class AAA. Two-time defending section champion Princeton had not previously qualified for state since 1932.
MLWR (17-3) AT PEQUOT LAKES (18-2)
What: Section 7AA championship
When: 6 p.m.
Outlook: A high-scoring thriller could be in the offing if this one is anything like Pequot Lakes’ 87-84 overtime win in the regular-season meeting. Third-seeded Moose Lake-Willow River is the highest-scoring team in the state, averaging nearly 87 points per game. The Rebels nailed their average in an 87-73 semifinal win over host Duluth Marshall on Tuesday. Mason Olson scored 32 points to lead the way. While Olson is clutch, players such as Brady Watrin, Logan Orvedahl and Phillip Sheetz often pace the team in scoring. No individual statistics were available. The school’s lone state tournament appearance came in 2005. … Likewise, the Patriots are far from state tournament regulars, having won section titles in 2004, ’05 and ’07. Pequot Lakes moved within one victory of another championship with a 74-54 semifinal win over Esko. Sam Rysavy registered 22 points and Simon Wufflestad added 15. Though season stats were not available, Alex Morgan and Bode Magnuson are among the team’s double-digit scoring leaders for a team averaging 71.7 points per game.
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