Apple Valley is the state's best team, and now it can be considered among the nation's elite.

The Class 4A, No. 1 Eagles used a 19-0 run in the second half to beat Blue Valley (Kan.) Northwest 72-59 in the last of four games in the Timberwolves Shootout on Saturday at the Target Center.

Blue Valley Northwest of Overland Park entered the matchup ranked No. 18 in the nation, according to the USA Today poll. Earlier this season, the Eagles lost to then-No. 34 Whitney Young (Ill.) 80-70.

Senior point guard Tyus Jones led Apple Valley (11-1) with a game-high 26 points. The Duke recruit also had eight rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. added 17 points.

Clayton Custer, an Iowa State recruit, paced Kansas' defending Class 6A champions with 18 points.

DeLaSalle 59, St. Rita (Ill.) 53: The Islanders closed the game on a 17-9 run over the final six minutes, knocking off the Chicago power in the third shootout game. Junior Sacar Anim paced the Class 3A, No. 2 Islanders (5-3) with 29 points. DeLaSalle was once again without senior forward Travis Reid. The Stanford recruit has been sidelined all season with a stress fracture in one of his feet. Dominique Matthews led St. Rita with 17 points, all scored in the second half .

Lakeville North 59, Grand Rapids 36: The Thunderhawks (8-3) were no match for the Class 4A, No. 3 Panthers (9-1). Lakeville North senior forward J.P. Macura, a Xavier recruit, finished with 24 points. Grand Rapids Division I recruit Alex Illikainen, a junior forward, had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Bettendorf (Iowa) 71, Cretin-Derham Hall 66: The Bulldogs didn't have an answer for junior forward Sam Neumann, but still won. Neumann scored a game-high 39 points, connecting on 9-of-15 three-point attempts, for Cretin-Derham Hall (9-2). Nick Baer's basket with less than one minute left gave Bettendorf the lead for good, 67-66. Baer had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

staff reports