Lakeville North will Play Unbeaten Osseo in 4A Semifinal

The No. 5 seed and eighth-ranked Lakeville North Panthers outmuscled the No. 4 seed and fourth-rated Maple Grove Crimson 60-49 at Target Center today.

No. 1 seed and No. 2 ranked Osseo beat Eden Prairie earlier 85-73.

The Orioles are unbeaten and Panther head coach John Oxton told KDHL after the game his team will need to bring their A game but they welcome the challenge.

Osseo has athletes that love to run and will trap all over the floor.

Oxton says his team will have to be strong with the ball and he wants to see his team make it more of a half-court contest. But everybody else Osseo has played has had the same goal.

The game will be broadcast on Power 96 Radio 95.9 FM, www.power96radio.com or you can listen by downloading the free RadioPup app on your favorite mobile device.

The Panthers outrebounded Maple Grove 40-33 and held the Crimson to 29 percent shooting in the game.

Six-foot-10 Lakeville junior Nathan Reuvers had 19 points and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes and wowed Fox Sports Television basketball analyst Kevin Lynch.

Lynch told me he knew the Gophers were interested in Reuvers but I noted Wisconsin offered him a scholarship after the section final win over John Marshall in Rochester last week. Lynch loves Reuvers' game. The junior was 9 for 9 from the free throw line.

Six-foot-7 senior Carter Brooks added 11 points and five rebounds and 6-foot-2 senior Nick Fossey was a super sub for Lakeville North with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Panthers shot 42 percent from the field. Both teams struggled from long range due to the NBA three-point line. Maple Grove was 1 of 12 and Lakeville North was 2 of 13.

Crimson junior Brad Davison tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Panthers were 18 of 22 from the free throw line and Maple Grove finished 18 of 23.

The Crimson finish their season with a 25-5 record. Lakeville North is also 25-5 heading into tomorrow's game.