ROGERS - The No. 6-seeded Brainerd Warriors kept pace with No. 3 Rogers for much of the game behind 19 points from Chris Pederson, but it was the Royals prevailing for a 77-62 victory in a Section 8-4A quarterfinal game Tuesday night.
Pederson hit on seven of 11 from the field including three of four three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds.
Logan Madsen, Jack Geraets and Kobe Ahonen finished with 10 points each for Brainerd which ends 12-15.
"We played well for 32 minutes and made some mental mistakes late which they took advantage of," said Warrior head coach Scott Stanfield. "The game was played at their tempo and it sped us up too much at times resulting in 24 turnovers."
The long ball kept the Warriors in the game as they hit on 10 of 22 from beyond the arc and 23 of 48 overall from the field (48 percent) for the game.
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Rogers was 24 of 44 (55 percent) from the field, just three of nine from three-point range. Allen Wilson paced the Royals with 21 points while Steffan Musoke and Cole Murray added 19 apiece.
"They are a very athletic team, and have a number of weapons," said Stanfield. "They shot 32 free throws to our six and makes it difficult to win a game with those numbers."
Rogers was 26 of 32 from the charity stripe while Brainerd was 6-for-6.
The Royals beat the Warriors 70-62 during the regular season, are 18-9, and on an eight game winning streak..
"This was a fun team to coach, and they came a long way," said Stanfield. "Our seniors - Logan Madsen, Jacob Russell, Hunter Casper and Steven Severson - were terrific leaders for us and will be hard to replace."
Rogers 40 37 - 77
Brainerd 38 24 - 62
ROGERS
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Steffan Musoke 19, Allen Wilson 21, Gunnar Bloom 4, Justin Bohnsack 2, Lance Lendl 9, Adam Heyer 1, William Alexander 2, Cole Murray 19. FG 24-44 (55 percent), FT 26-32 (81 percent). 3-point 3-9 (33 percent).
BRAINERD
Logan Madsen 10, Jack Geraets 10, Jacob Russell 3, Chris Pederson 19, Michael Russell 3, Kobe Ahonen 10, Steven Severson 5, Hunter Casper 2. FG 23-48 (48 percent), FT 6-6 (100 percent). 3-point 10-22 (46 percent). Overall: Brainerd finishes 12-15.
