The No. 2 seeded Caledonia Area boys basketball team fought hard through the section tournament, especially through a tough No. 7 seeded Cotter team, winning by a score of 63-59. But the Warriors fell in tough fashion to No. 3 seed Cannon Falls, 82-81, in the waning seconds of their semifinals game.
The Warriors faced off against the Cotter Ramblers on Wednesday, March 6 at the Mayo Civic Center Arena in the Section 1AA quarterfinals. The Warriors started off slow in the first half but picked up the pace, with the Ramblers keeping just behind that pace to halftime. The score was 28-24 with Caledonia in the lead.
The second half saw the Ramblers take the lead nearly halfway through, but the Warriors fought back and took back the lead once again near the end of the game.
The Ramblers continued to fight, but the Warriors drained time and won the contest 63-59. Top scorers were Reid Klug (No. 12) with 20 points, Mason King (No. 5) with 16 points and Lewis Doyle (No. 2) with eight points.
In the section semifinals, the Warriors played the Cannon Falls Bombers for the right to battle for the section championship on Saturday, March 9 against No. 1 seed Lake City in the Mayo Civic Center Auditorium.
The Warriors won the tip, and King started off the scoring with an early 3-pointer. The Bombers also came out swinging, with a hot start to the first half. It seemed, at times, that they could not miss.
The Warriors were down by 14 at the 13:00 minute mark, but they began the battle back with eight minutes left. On a big three by Garrett Konz (No. 10), the Warriors took the lead at 30-29 with 5:30 left in the half. The rest of the half was a tough fight for both teams, and when the clock ran out, the score was tied 40-40.
The second half saw Ethan Stendel (No. 14) start with a steal and a slam dunk to get the crowd going for Caledonia. The half included several lead changes, with some grit on display from both the Warriors and Bombers. Reid Klug was in the trenches, battling in the post against the Bombers' defenders at every possession.
With five minutes left in the game, the intensity ramped up, and the lead changes happened nearly every trip down the court. After an unfortunate backcourt violation for Caledonia, the Bombers went up two at 80-78 with 45 seconds left in the game. Next time down the floor, King got wide open and nailed a big 3-pointer with only 4.6 seconds left on the clock to go up 81-80.
After a few timeouts, the Bombers inbounded the ball and struggled up the floor, but they managed to hit a layup to win 82-81 as time ran out, thus ending the Warriors' basketball season.
Top scorers for the game were King with 22 points, Konz with 20 points, and Klug with 17 points.
The Warriors can be proud of a great 27-6 season.
“Proud of the way our guys never quit fighting," coach Brad King said. "Thankful for all the hard work they put into the season. Like to thank all the fans that supported us all year and the many sponsors who give their support also. The opportunities our student athletes get to enjoy would not be possible without the help and support of our Booster Club. Please keep this in mind as they look for help now and in the future with our club.”
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