The Class AAAA Simulation Series: Elite 8

<p>We continue the Simulation Series at NHR today with eight teams left standing among the top 32 (by QRF). The simulator was in favor of some upset picks during Sweet 16 play and we have some Cinderellas to watch out for. Here’s the scoreboard from the Elite 8:</p> <p><strong>Game 1: Park Center 89, Spring Lake Park 88</strong></p> <p>Two teams that were set to face off in the 5AAAA final last month get that thrilling matchup in the state quarterfinals on our simulator. The Pirates edged out the win behind a monster game from [player_tooltip player_id="549408" first="Josh" last="Brown"], who scored 25 points on five triples and found his way to the interior multiple times too. [player_tooltip player_id="846133" first="David" last="Ijadimbola"] scored 21 in support, [player_tooltip player_id="846118" first="Detavius" last="Frierson"] added 17 with versatile play on both ends and [player_tooltip player_id="846104" first="Dain" last="Dainja"] scored 14.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="846121" first="Blake" last="Remme"] continued his strong shooting with 23 for SLP. [player_tooltip player_id="774804" first="Kaleb" last="Skelly"] was a breakout performer at the MN open period this past weekend and backed that up with 18 points inside here. [player_tooltip player_id="721857" first="Gabe" last="Myren"] finished his career with a 17-point performance, [player_tooltip player_id="846263" first="Jacob" last="Say"] had 16 and [player_tooltip player_id="846155" first="Daydor" last="Phillips"] roughed it up inside for 14.</p> <p><strong>Game 2: Lakeville North 78, Tartan 59</strong></p> <p>The Panther Way is to win in the playoffs. I don’t make the rules, that’s just the way it is. Will Blascziek went off for 20 points, [player_tooltip player_id="957223" first="Cooper" last="Laufenburger"] poured in 19 and [player_tooltip player_id="846162" first="Noah" last="Frechette"] scored 18 to lead the three-headed consistency machine. The backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id="846193" first="Josh" last="Kamara"] and [player_tooltip player_id="846201" first="Carter" last="Patterson"] cooled offensively but made life difficult for the Tartan guards.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="846184" first="Langston" last="Binns"] had another strong outing scoring 23 and [player_tooltip player_id="774743" first="Dorian" last="Singer"] slashed for 12, but no other Titans were in double figures as the scores were hard to come by against a stout North team defense.</p> <p><strong>Game 3: Cambridge-Isanti 76, Rochester Century 70</strong></p> <p>Coming alive more and more as the tourney goes on, [player_tooltip player_id="846135" first="Henry" last="Abraham"] led all scorers with 25 points. [player_tooltip player_id="957221" first="Connor" last="Braaten"] splashed again as a secondary option with 20 points and the Bluejackets high-paced offense finds itself in the Final Four.</p> <p>Gabe Hanson once again led Century in scoring with 21, while [player_tooltip player_id="549381" first="Jack" last="Fisher"] added 19 and [player_tooltip player_id="955885" first="Stephen" last="Olander"] had 14 points on the other wing in defeat.</p> <p><strong>Game 4: Chaska 89, White Bear Lake 77</strong></p> <p>The star seniors came to compete in this one for the Hawks. [player_tooltip player_id="846120" first="Zach" last="Lea"] and [player_tooltip player_id="721980" first="Mahad" last="Faisal"] each scored 20 points to lead Chaska in victory. Great balanced contributions from [player_tooltip player_id="532600" first="Luke" last="Strazzanti"] (17), [player_tooltip player_id="774803" first="Jack" last="Frick"] (16) and [player_tooltip player_id="850714" first="Brady" last="Nicholson"] (16) created a formula for a semifinal appearance.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="957215" first="Kanye" last="Raheem"] led the Bears with 20 points as the White Bear Lake run comes to an end. All players were in double figures and [player_tooltip player_id="774889" first="Will" last="Forsythe"] was in support inside with 18.</p> <p>Final Four:</p> <p>Park Center vs. Cambridge-Isanti</p> <p>Chaska vs. Lakeville North</p>