If Sunnyslope's Terrence Gilder's three-point field goal at the buzzer ending the third quarter wasn't an omen, maybe teammate Dane Maggi's three in the fourth quarter to blunt a Corona del Sol comeback bid was.

Or maybe the bad karma happened prior to tipoff when standout junior guard Saben Lee's absence from Corona''s lineup due to illness was unveiled. What ultimately came of all those things and more was No. 8 Sunnyslope's 61-53 upset of the four-time defending champiion Aztecs in the last of Wednesday's  Division I quarterfinal games at Wells Fargo Arena.

Sunnyslope (24-4), behind a balanced effort  led by Chris Orozco and Maggi, is on to Friday's semifinals to play No. 4 Gilbert at 8 p.m. at Grand Canyon University. Gilbert and Sunnyslope played in early December, a game Sunnyslope won, 54-49.

Corona (15-9) had its postseason win streak of 15 games end, suffering its first playoff loss since Feb. 26 of 2011 when it lost in the quarterfinals on the court of eventual champ that year, Mesa Mountain View. junior Alex Barcello, senior Tyrell Henderson and Lee. With Lee not available, Sunnyslope took advantage and made Corona play catchup nearly the entire game. Corona had a couple of brief leads in the opening quarter and was tied at 20 late in the second period. Other than that, it was Sunnyslope's game.

"When we knew (Lee) wasn't going to play, it changed a couple matchups," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said. "But we did what we've done all year. We came to play hard and with a lot of energy. Going against  them was still a challenge. We just had to keep playing and do what got us here."

Orozco led Sunnyslope with 17 points and Maggi had 14 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Fischer tallied 10 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Vikings.

Barcello and Henderson did the best they could to advance Corona to the semis and buy Lee time to get healthy. Barcello scored 29 points to lead all scorers and Henderson had 18 (that's 47 of Corona's 53 points) plus 11 rebounds. The pair took 46 of Corona's 59 shots and nearly always took shots with heavy pressure. Sunnyslope shot 49 percent from the field taking 12 fewer shots. Corona shot 32 percent for the night -- Barcello 10-of-29 and Henderson 7-of-17.

Corona had a little momemtum going late in the third period as it pulled within 36-32 with a few seconds left in the third period. Gilder, who scored six points, got  half of them on his open, but hurried three as the third quarter ended. With Corona having to work so hard offensively to keep up, Gilder's bucket doused momentum for the Aztecs heading to the final period.

Barcello's only converted three (out of 10 attempts for the game) came with 2 1/2 minutes left to pull Corona within 48-41. Maggi spoiled the optimism with a long 3 of his own 13 seconds later.

Corona managed to get within 57-53 as Sunnyslope succumbed to frantic pressure a few times in the final two minutes, but hit enough free throws late to outlast the dog-tired Aztecs.