Goodhue standout sophomore Max Loos walked off the court at halftime shaking his head. It could’ve been several things. But his concerns probably lie at least some with the opponent his #2 in Class AA Goodhue Wildcats (1-seed, 28-1) faced in the Section 1AA final. Caledonia (6-seed, 18-10) was not supposed to be there. By seed, they were not supposed to win even a quarterfinal game. But there they were, ahead 30-25 at the half, pushing the favored Wildcats, who have gone to state in Class A the past two years. Brad King’s Warriors took the ball to the hoop off the dribble and scored creatively around the basket while limiting Goodhue to just 25 first half points. The Wildcats came in averaging 80-plus points per game. A 1-for-11 half from deep also did not help their cause. Meanwhile, Caledonia hit 5-of-11 trifectas. And the Warriors started the second half with the first four points to lead 34-25. But Goodhue got back to even quickly at 41-41, and the stanza was then a fantastic back-and-forth offensive affair. Despite Goodhue scoring on more than 65% of their second half possessions (24 of 35), it came down to the wire. Because the Warriors countered by hitting 6 of 10 second half threes. Senior Aaron Stemper had three. With 6:08 left, Loos hit a three to put the Wildcats up 54-49. Stemper replied by capping a personal 10-point scoring run with a bucket and a three, and Grant King followed with a bucket. A 7-2 Warrior spurt tied the game 56-56 with 4:29 left. Goodhue then scored eight of 10 points to lead 66-58 with 2:31 left. But the Warriors then scored eight of 10 points, as Stemper and Zeke Gengler (his only made field goal of the game) hit back-to-back threes. Gengler’s deep ball narrowed the Wildcat lead to 68-66 with 1:12 left. But in a game of big shots, one loose ball scramble situation produced the game’s biggest play. After a close (and referee discussed) over-and-back turnover on the Wildcats, the Warriors had the ball down 68-66 with just under 50 seconds to go. Gengler attempted a go-ahead three, missed, but saved his own shot from going out of bounds. In a melee, the biggest Warrior killer of the night, Goodhue’s best player, senior Luke Roschen, stole the ball and took off up court. He initiated contact, drawing a foul call, finished the shot, and made the free throw for the three-point play. With 34.5 seconds left, Goodhue went ahead 71-66. Making things worse, Warrior starter Coby Hammell fouled out on the play. The deal then was not technically sealed until less than 10 seconds remained. Goodhue’s Loos missed two free throws with his team leading 74-71, but Roschen corralled the rebound and was fouled. He iced the game with two freebies with 7.1 seconds left. Battling hard, but coming up short, the scrapy and unphased Warriors fell 76-71. Roschen, a 6’2” guard who has over 2,000 career points and has committed to Southwest Minnesota State, led all scorers with 30 points plus 9 rebounds. He did all that damage despite going 0-for-8 from deep. He was 11 of 17 from two-point range and 8 of 9 at the line (all in the second half). Loos scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half. He hit 5 of 8 threes. Owen Roschen added 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Stemper, who joined Hammell in fouling out, scored a Warrior high 27 points. He hit 5 of 7 threes including all three of his second half attempts. King scored 23 points including hitting 4 of 9 threes. His first made three of the game put him over 1,000 career points as just a sophomore. Hammell added 11 (pts) and 15 (rebs). For the game, the Warriors won from deep 11 of 21 (52%) to 5 of 23 (22%). But they lost at the free throw line 8 of 14 (57%) to 19 of 28 (68%). The Wildcats hit 17 of 22 second half free throws (77%) while Caledonia was 7 of 11 (64%). Goodhue also turned six second half offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance-points. Cal finished 26 of 57 from the field (46%), Goodhue 26 of 56 (46%). The Warriors also had 15 turnovers to the Wildcats’ 8. The teams combined to score on 21 of the games’ final 31 possessions: Caledonia 23 points, Goodhue 25 points. The Warriors’ season ends at 18-11. But it was a tremendous “reboot” run for a group that starts just two seniors and coming on the wings of graduating four starters including three 1,000-point scorers a year ago. A-Stemper, Gengler, Maddox Walk, and Evan Milde are the Warriors’ four-man senior class.
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