Corona del Sol coach Sammy Duane Jr. often frets about slow starts. He's done his share of it this season.

He didn't have to worry about it Tuesday night as the top-seeded Aztecs bolted to a 21-8 lead and played the kind of defense that wouldn't allow a comeback in a 69-54 victory in the Division I boys basketball tournament quarterfinals at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.

"We did come out fast tonight," Duane said. "I thought the key was how we defended. We played good defense all night."

Corona improved to 30-1 and won its 28th game in a row. The Aztecs find themselves in the semifinals on Thursday night at 7:45 at Jobing.com Arena. Their opponent will be Desert Vista, which nipped Gilbert, 53-50, earlier on Tuesday. It will be the third meeting this season between Corona and Desert Vista. Brophy capped its season with a 23-8 record.

Senior guard Calaen Robinson and sophomore guard Casey Benson  were a pretty good tandem Tuesday, combining for 37 points for Corona. The Aztecs also got inside scoring from senior Andrus Peat, who tallied 15 points and had to pick up the slack some in the paint at both ends for foul-plagued teammate Avery Moss. Moss managed four points. He collected three fouls before halftime another in the third and then fouled out with 4:10 left in the contest after barely returning to action.

"Andrus played great and so did our guys off the bench taking up for Avery," Duane said. "I liked the way we were able to keep the lead once we got it."

Every Corona starter scored with the first five baskets as the Aztecs grabbed a 13-4 lead. They connected on 10-of-17 shots from the field in the first quarter compared to Brophy's 5-for-16. Benson made two threes in the first period, Robinson penetrated and scored a couple layups and Peat had six points, four on putbacks.

Brophy senior forward James Harper was held scoreless for the first three quarters, but managed eight points in the final period. Harper hit five straight free throws for his first points of the night, which pulled Brophy within 48-38 with 6:09 to go. That's as close as Brophy got  in the final period.

Brophy center Tim Kempton had to work hard for his eight first-half points. He did not score in the second half with Peat and a helping defense making it difficult for the Broncos to get points from their big man. Fred Gammage and Robert Reif led Brophy with 10 points apiece.