Class 4A: Eden Prairie, Edina, Apple Valley win

Eden Prairie's size stifled Woodbury's offense in a 70-59 victory in Wednesday's Class 4A quarterfinals at the Target Center. The Eagles held the Royals to more than 19 points below their season average.

The Eagles' big bodies Jack Cottrell, Anthony Anderson, Zach Hovey and Aaron Workin had their way with a Royals' lineup that didn't play anyone bigger than 6-3.

"It can't be fun going against our big guys," said Cottrell, who had 14 rebounds and scored seven points.

Foul trouble plagued Eden Prairie (22-8) early on, but their guards stayed on the court and kept the Eagles in control. Andre Wallace led the guards' effort with 20 points, Alex Ihrke had 17 and Grant Shaeffer 15.

"We wanted to slow it down and speed it up, and it worked out on both ends," Shaeffer said. "They're the second- or third-highest scoring offense in the state. But we pride ourselves on defense."

The Royals, led by Diallo Powell's 19 points, got within four points, 51-47, with 7:38 to play. Then Shaeffer scored eight consecutive points to extend Eden Prairie's lead to double digits, where it remained.

"I think they caught us off guard. It was so hard [to score against Eden Prairie's size]," Powell said. "I think it defeated us within."

Woodbury (25-5) was led by Mario Franco with 17 points and Matt Ambriz with 10.

JASON GONZALEZ

Edina 99, Andover 61: This marked the Hornets' first trip to the boys' basketball tournament in 22 years and senior point guard Graham Woodward was determined to make the return memorable.

Edina's opponent, Andover, made Woodward uneasy. The Huskies' losing record made them easy to overlook. But a challenging schedule made Andover battle-tested.

Woodward, who has signed with Penn State, said he wanted to embody the Hornets' urgency. The No. 3 seed Hornets won by 38 points thanks to Woodward's inspired performance. He scored 32 of his 40 points in the first half to energize favored Edina (23-7) and dispel any notion of an upset by Andover (10-20).

"It's important being able to run the show and have others involved," Woodward said. "They look to me as a leader and that's what I try to do."

Showcasing his myriad basketball talents, Woodward hit a variety of shots and accelerated past overwhelmed Andover defenders.

"He's a fantastic player," said Huskies junior Connor Wilkie, who tied for his team's scoring lead with 13 points. "He's so quick and he's got a good mid-range shot you don't often see in high school."

DAVID LA VAQUE

Apple Valley 81, Brainerd 67: Tyus Jones wasn't comfortable in the shoes he was wearing at the start of Wednesday morning's game.

After all, Apple Valley trailed Brainerd by two points at halftime and the nationally sought recruit had just four points. Wearing a fresh pair in the second half, Jones scored 15 points to spur the Eagles to a 14-point victory.

"I was just taking what the defense gave me [in the first half]," said Jones, who also had seven assists and six steals. "In the second I was able to get to the lane and score a little bit more. We just knew we had to regroup and calm down. They had gone on their run."

Brainerd (28-2) tied the game 56-56 on a basket by Chris Bowman with 9:06 left in the second half. But it couldn't answer what the Eagles and their star would do for the rest of the game. The Warriors didn't score again until 4:23 to play. Apple Valley (29-1) closed the game on a 25-8 run.

Warriors coach Scott Stanfield said his players did all they were capable of. The Sauer brothers, Tony and Jack, combined for 17 points, Marcus Comstock had 17 and Bowman 12.

The Eagles' Dennis Austin also had 19 points and added six rebounds.

"We knew what they were prepared to do, we just started out slow,'' Austin said. "They came out and punched us in the mouths. We did the little things in the second half and played smarter."

JASON GONZALEZ