Woodbury Boys Basketball Team Heads Back to State Tournament

The Royals face Eden Prairie at noon Wednesday, March 20.

The Woodbury High School boys basketball team will take on Eden Prairie at noon Wednesday, March 20, in the first round of the state tournament. The Royals, coming off a 25-4 season, are seeded fourth in the Class AAAA bracket. (Coaches selected the top seeds in all four classes.) It’s the second straight year Woodbury has made the tourney. Wednesday's game is at the Target Center, and buses from Woodbury High School will take students to the game. Tickets at the door cost $14 for adults and $9 for students. Woodbury is making its second consecutive and seventh overall appearance, according to the Minnesota State High School league website, while Eden Prairie is making its fourth consecutive and ninth overall tournament appearance If …

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Link: Strong Start for Woodbury Hoops Just 'OK,' Coach Says

Woodbury boys basketball

10-Year Anniversary of New Life Academy Boys Basketball's Trip to State

A YouTube video looking back at the team.

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Woodbury Boys Basketball Video Highlights

A YouTube video of the action from a December game set to music.

Highlights from a 77-69 Woodbury High School boys basketball win over Cretin-Derham Hall on Dec. 18, 2012. Like Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our free newsletter

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Editor's Notebook

Video: Scenes from the Woodbury-Hopkins Boys Baseketball Game

The Royals came up short against the No. 1 seed Wednesday, falling to Hopkins 82-75 in the state boys basketball tournament at the Target Center.

Even through the magic of video, it's hard to capture the excitement the Woodbury boys basketball game generated Wednesday at the Target Center. It was impressive to see the local squad give Hopkins—always a threat to win the title—all it could handle before losing in overtime. If you have photos of the game or thoughts on how it went or wishes you'd like to send the boys, leave them in the comments section below. Congratulations gentlemen on a fine season. Woodbury High School Principal Linda Plante on Thursday sent out a note about the team. "Congratulations to the Woodbury High School Boys’ Basketball team and its many fans on the performance at Target Center yesterday," she wrote. "The final score was Hopkins 82 and Woodbury 75. It was…

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East Ridge Boys Basketball Falls to St. Louis Park

Pahl's 33 points not enough to prevent first loss of the season as Raptors lose 81-72.

East Ridge senior Jason Pahl scored 33 points Friday night, but non-conference rival St. Louis Park was too strong, dropping the Raptors 81-72.   The Raptors and Orioles played close the entire game, but East Ridge could not catch up in the final minutes after a St. Louis Park surge.   Pahl was hot from downtown, hitting seven threes for East Ridge. Teammate Brian Ishola had 17 points. The Raptors fall to 2-1 on the season and will face North St. Paul on Wednesday at the Perch.

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Winter Sports Season Comes to an End in Woodbury

East Ridge, Woodbury and New Life boys basketball teams fall in sectionals; Eagles lose sectional title game to Maranatha.

While the remaining snow and chilly temperatures would suggest otherwise, the winter season officially came to an end in Woodbury this weekend as local basketball teams were all defeated in their respective sectional playoff contests on Friday and Saturday evenings. New Life Girls Basketball: Maranatha 44, Eagles 37 The New Life Academy girls basketball team was stopped one game short of a return to the state tournament as the top-seeded Eagles were upset 44-37 by Maranatha in the Section 4A final on Friday night at Hamline University. New Life could not dig itself out of a 26-19 halftime hole in losing by seven points to the No. 2 seed, with Cara Lutes leading the Eagles with 14 points and fellow future Drake Bulldog Rebekah Schmidt …

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Woodbury falls to Tartan 64-46 in Section Quaterfinals

The top-seeded Titans offense proved too much for the Royals Friday.

The Woodbury High School basketball season ended on Friday night with a lopsided loss to Tartan High School in the Section 4AAA quarterfinal game.  After the first few minutes Woodbury never came close to the Titans, who showed clearly why they were seeded No. 1 in the section tournament. The Royals lost 64-46. Woodbury did show determination—even as they were behind by double digits they still fought hard. Senior Mike Policano, playing in what would be his least game as a Royal, scored a team-high 10 points. The Titan defense held Ryan Fritze, the Royals' top scoring threat, to nine points. Tartan now moves on the play Stillwater in the section semifinals at East Ridge High School at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15.

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Preller Era Ends in Woodbury, Other Hoops Teams Gear Up for Playoffs

Woodbury girls basketball team falls to White Bear Lake in 4AAAA title game for third-straight season.

Dave Preller's 32-year high school coaching career came to an end on Thursday night as the Woodbury girls basketball team lost to White Bear Lake in the Section 4AAAA playoff final for the third-consecutive season. Woodbury led the Bears 22-21 at halftime of this year's championship game at East Ridge High School and held a five-point advantage in the second half. However, they could not stem the tide against the section's No. 1 seed as White Bear Lake charged back to snatch away the victory after the Royals fell into foul trouble over the final 18 minutes of play. It was the third time this season that the Suburban East Conference champion Bears defeated the conference runner-up and sectional No. 2 seed Royals. Woodbury guard Michelle …

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Woodbury Boys, New Life Girls, Win Tuesday Hoops Sectionals

Royals, Eagles both advance in their respective postseason tournaments.

Both the Woodbury boys and New Life girls basketball teams advanced in their respective sectional playoff brackets with victories on Tuesday night, with the Royals topping Henry Sibley and the Eagles defeating West Lutheran. Woodbury Boys Basketball: Royals 92, Henry Sibley 79 The Woodbury boys basketball team moved on into the Section 4AAAA semifinals as the eighth-seeded Royals defeated No. 9 Henry Sibley 92-79 in the sectional play-in game in "The Lion's Den." Woodbury's Rickey Suggs and Ryan Fritze shared the game lead in scoring with 24 points apiece, with teammates Renard Suggs and Connor McKeen each logging 12 points in the 13-point victory. With the win, the Royals improved to 11-16 on the season and earned the right to take on top…

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