Buzzer Beating Finishes

TWO games ended with buzzer beaters Thursday at the state boys basketball tournament at Target Center. The first will generate talk about adding a shot clock to the game.

The Class 4A semifinals both ended with long range shots to propel Hopkins and Lakeville North into the title game Saturday night. Hopkins win will be used as the latest argument for a shot clock. The Royals were tied with Shakopee with about three minutes remaining in regulation when the Royals started holding the ball. After missing a shot at the end of the game, Hopkins won the opening tap of overtime and immediately held the ball, waiting for Shakopee to come out of their zone defense, which they never did. The game lasted through four overtimes, with most of that time slow expiring as Kamali Chambers stood in front of the scorers table holding, or dribbling, the ball. Just when it appeared the game would move to a fifth overtime, Amir Coffey hit a half court shot as time ran out on the fourth overtime.

Lakeville North battled back and forth with Cretin Derham Hall all night. With the score tied at 52, the Panthers freed up scoring phenom JP Macura for an NBA-distance three pointer as time expired to earn a shot at #2 ranked Hopkins in the final.

Big Nine champ Austin grabbed early control of their 3A semifinal with Holy Family and cruised on to a 70-42 win. The Packers face DeLaSalle for the second straight year in the final. The Islanders beat Austin last year.

Listen to KDHL Radio AM 920 for the full day of A and AA semifinals Friday, and the state championship games on Saturday.