Minnesota boys basketball playoffs continue

Section playoffs continued across the state of Minnesota Tuesday night. There were plenty of prime time performances, comeback wins, clutch plays and as always, a few surprises along the way as Minnesota's version of March Madness heats up.

Here is a look at some of those games, key players and developments across the state:

WASHBURN FLYING HIGH
The Washburn (Minneapolis) boys basketball team may be playing its best basketball of the season at the most important time of the season. The Millers, champions of the Minneapolis City Conference, defeated top-ranked Johnson, the St. Paul City Conference and defending state champion, 85-80 Saturday in the Twin Cities Championship game. Cedric Chappell scored 22 points, Clarence Thomas 18, Dwight Anderson 16 and Nick Anderson 11 in that win. There was no letdown either in the first round of the 6AAA playoffs, when Washburn carried the momentum over in a 106-80 win over Mound-Westonka in quarterfinal action Tuesday. The Millers are deep and athletic team. Thomas leads the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game while Dwight Anderson adds 16.2 points per game. Washburn, which was 11-1 in MCC action, is now 21-5 overall.

SPEAKING OF JOHNSON
One thing that makes the defending state champions so dangerous is their versatility. While Johnson (St. Paul) lost to a talented Washburn team, six players scored in double figures for the Governors. Roosevelt Scott led the way with 24 points, Estan Tyler and Waylon Johnson had 12 and Anthony Lee, Marcus Marshall and Chris Smith-Bond all scored 10. Despite the loss, Johnson will still be a force to be reckoned with throughout the playoffs - and you can bet the Governors are eyeing a potential rematch with Washburn in the state tournament - if both teams make it that far.

BYRON UPSETS TOP-SEEDED STEWARTVILLE
It's an old cliché, but they say "it's always hard to beat a team three times." Such was the case for Stewartville. The No. 1 seed in 1AA, Stewartville was upset by No. 4 seeded Byron 48-25 Tuesday at the Mayo Civic Arena. Pressure defense and clutch shooting was the key for Byron, which lost to Stewartville twice in the regular season. Stewartville missed 26 3-point shots (4-for-30) and shot only 19 percent overall. Byron, meanwhile, shot 57 percent from the field and made 4 of 7 three pointers in the win. Jack Nelson led Byron with 11 points while Evan Morris added nine and Taylor Kunkel eight.

ANOTHER UPSET — WOODBURY WINS
Ricky Suggs and Ryan Fritze each scored 24 points for Woodbury as the Royals upset No. 9 Henry Sibley Tuesday. Renard Suggs added 12 points in the win. Woodbury was 10-16 heading into the game but upset the higher-seeded Warriors. Can the team keep the momentum going? They'll get a big test Friday when they play top-seeded and No. 7 ranked Tartan Friday in Oakdale.

MILESTONE FOR PLAINVIEW-ELGIN-MILLVILLE'S OLSTAD
Cole Olstad joined a select group of Minnesota prep basketball players when the senior went over 3,000 points in his career in an 81-43 win over Chatfield in a subsection 1AA East semifinal game. Olstad is now one of five players in the state of Minnesota to eclipse 3,000 points in his career.

HOPKINS CRUISES
Hopkins (Minnetonka), the state's top-ranked team, opened 6AAA action Tuesday with an 87-61 win over crosstown rival Minnetonka. Joe Coleman, a University of Minnesota recruit, and Marvin Singleton, a Northern Iowa recruit, each scored 23 points in the win.

SOUTH SUBURBAN CLASHES
Section 3AAAA places many familiar foes against each other, as it's home to many of the South Suburban Conference teams. In that conference are No. 7 Eastview (Apple Valley) and No. 8 Eagan, as well as a talented Apple Valley team, Lakeville South and Lakeville North. Many of those teams opened playoff action Tuesday. The surprise of the night came when Rosemount defeated Eagan, 60-59 in one of the big upsets of the night.

In the battle of Lakeville, South defeated North 57-47 behind a balanced attack. Alex Richter, who came into the game averaging 22.2 points per game, scored 15 to lead South. Jon Christensen added 12 points and Riley West 11 in the win. Apple Valley advanced with a 72-49 win over Burnsville as the duo of Tyus Jones (19) and Tom Schalk (15) combined for 34 points. Eastview advanced with an 80-19 win over Park Cottage Grove. The Lightning, champions of the South Suburban Conference (15-3) are led by Joey King's 17.8 points per game.

The action is heating up, what will develop in the coming weeks? Stay tuned, it's just getting fun!