Kamali Chambers, senior, led the way for the Hopkins Royals, who pulled away late to defeat the Titans of Tartan 70-58. Chambers scored 21 points, including five three-pointers. Chambers took over in the second half, shooting 4-4 from three and putting the game out of reach.

“My defender kept sagging back and I just took the open shots,” Chambers said, “[Coach Novak] told me a couple of times to just stop hesitating. In the beginning of the game, I was hesitating a bit. He said to just let it go.”

Ken Novak, head coach, provided high praise for his senior point guard.

“He’s a very good point guard,” Novak said. “Kamali is the kid that sparks us. He can shoot the ball very well. Still, he was surprised by his shooting today.”

The Royals were given a boost by their student section. Because the game occurred during school hours, students that wished to attend were excused from class. The result was a packed student section of raucous Royal fans.

“The energy just gave us the extra push in the game,” Chambers said, “Our fans are the best, so they were able to give us the extra boost.”

Hopkins was also able to dominate the game inside. Noble Fahnbulleh and Stephon Sharp, seniors, combined to score 27 points and grab nine rebounds. Both helped contribute to the Royals 38-24 advantage in points in the paint.

“Noble is a guy that can get to the basket well. Stephon can too,” Novak said, “I thought we could set more ball screens with them, which we didn’t do, but I thought they both played well.”

Tartan’s mistakes down the stretch cost them. After a Titans three pointer cut the Royals lead to seven at 63-56 with 3:18 to play, the Titans struggled to gain momentum. In the last 3:18, the Titans missed all four of their shots, two of their four free throws, and committed a turnover.

With the win, the Royals will face the Sabres of Shakopee tomorrow night in the semi-finals, with tipoff scheduled for 6 PM. Shakopee, who is seeded fifth, defeated fourth seeded Osseo in their quarterfinal by a score of 54-51.