Red Wing Reaches Boys Basketball Semifinals with Hot Shooting

Big Nine Conference co-champion Red Wing made more than half of their shots from the floor and sank nearly every free throw while beating Simley 73-51 in the AAA quarterfinals.

The Wingers turned the ball over four times before scoring their first basket. The Spartans missed their first five shots. When the team's nerves settled down, Red Wing grabbed the lead and never trailed in their first state appearance since 2004. The Wingers jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first half, but the Spartans went on a 10-0 run to close to within a point. Red Wing stayed ahead and went to the Williams Arena locker room with a 29-23 lead. Ben Munson connected on four three-pointers in the first half on his way to a game-high 21 points.

The Wingers slowly extended their lead though the second half. They were 19-for-19 from the free throw line after halftime and 20-for-21 on the game. Red Wing hit nine triples and shot 54 percent. Carson Bryan added 16 points. Travis Toivonen had 13 and Joe Sevlie 11. Simley was led by their all-time leading scorer, Jack Stensgard, who put in 18 points, nearly 10 below his average.

The No. 2 seed Wingers will face third seed Fergus Falls in Thursday's semifinals at Target Center at 2PM. Fergus Falls beat Waseca 70-63 Wednesday.

The other semifinal features Minneapolis DeLaSalle and Monticello at noon. The Islanders of DeLaSalle beat Fridley 65-52. Four-time defending champ DeLaSalle will set a state record for consecutive basketball championships if they win the title this weekend. The Magic of Monticello edged Chisago Lakes Area 60-55. See the full Minnesota State High School League boys basketball bracket.

Class AAAA quarterfinals Wednesday at Target Center included Osseo over Eden Prairie 85-73, Lakeville North topped Maple Grove 60-49, Hopkins sailed by North St. Paul 74-42 and defending champ Apple Valley beat Blaine 77-75.

In the Class AA quarterfinals, St. Croix Lutheran clobbered Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 86-51, Braham eliminated Maple River 67-58, Jackson County Central upset Caledonia 79-74 and Annandale beat Esko.

The A quarterfinals are at Williams Arena on Wednesday. Listen to KDHL Radio AM 920 or kdhlradio.com for coverage of the tournament.