Photo by Paul Trende
Their performances versus Triton and Lewiston-Altura weren’t lights out. But wins are wins and Caledonia boys basketball posted 1AA quarterfinal and semifinal victories to make the 1AA championship game. Last year’s 1AA section champs will defend their title. It’ll be two one loss ranked teams going head-to-head.
Warriors Ease by Snakes in Quarterfinals
It wasn’t a completely dominating performance by #1 Caledonia (1-seed, 24-1). But Brad King’s group handled a solid Triton squad (8-seed, 16-11) in a 1AA quarterfinal. The Warriors forced 21 turnovers while committing just nine (only two in the first half). They only trailed briefly very early. But Triton was with two (40-38) early in the second half and within five (50-45) with 10-plus minutes left. This after the Warriors led by as many as 14 in the half (36-22) and by nine (38-29) at halftime. Caledonia’s reply to Triton’s push was to turn to seniors. They got buckets. With it 50-45, the Warriors spurted 10-0. Ja’Shon Simpson put in the first five points and Eli King the next five. The scores gave team Cal a 60-45 lead. They then closed things out for a 70-53 win. King led the charge, making plays everywhere (26 pts, 7-8 FTs, 9-16 FGs, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 7 stls). Jackson Koepke added a double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs). Simpson chipped in 13 points. Six other Warriors scored. Owen Petersohn scored 21 points (3-7 threes) to lead the Cobras. He was the only Triton player in double figures. Braxton Munnikhuysen chipped in 9 (pts) and 5 (rebs). Efficiency with the basketball, plus 18 offensive rebounds, led the Caledonia to shoot 18 more shots. The Warriors were 26 of 72 from the field (36%), Cobras 18 of 54 (33%). Triton (7 of 25 > 28%) held an edge from deep over Cal (5 of 22 > 23%). The Warriors were near flawless from the free throw line (13 of 14 > 93%) though Triton wasn’t shabby (10 of 14 > 71%). All those Warrior offensive rebounds yielded 15 second-chance-points. Triton had 11 offensive rebounds for just three second-chance-points. It was Caledonia’s first game since February 25 (beat La Crescent/Hokah), or a span of 10 days. Section 1AA only has 15 teams, so the Warriors had a Round of 16 bye. They moved to face Lewiston-Altura (5-seed, 20-8), which beat LC/H 75-57 in the quarters.
Team Cal Survives L-A in Semifinals
Cal-nation was on the edge of its seat. So too were all of Lewiston-Altura’s fans. The favored Warriors (1-seed, 25-1) led the Cardinals (5-seed, 20-8) late, but by just two at 55-53 with 0:22 seconds. And L-A had the ball. It had all come down to the wire in a game where each team rallied multiple times. Caledonia started the game 8-2. L-A laid back defensively, daring the Warriors to make threes. Ja’Shon Simpson and Eli King hit a couple early. But the Cardinals then went on a 14-0 run. After missing their first two threes, L-A hit five straight. They hit six of seven shots at one point and built a 16-8 lead. The Warriors fought back, using L-A turnovers as a catalyst. They pulled to down two at 19-17 only for L-A to build a 29-21 lead. At the half, the Cardinals led 31-28. In the second half, Caledonia’s defense again forced a cluster of turnovers. L-A had five miscues in six possessions, and the Warriors ran 8-0, turning a 38-34 deficit into a 42-38 lead. A Thane Meiners three (40-38) gave Cal its first lead since 8-5. Down the stretch, L-A 6’4” senior forward Thomas Menk tried to will his team to victory. He scored 11 straight Cardinal points, including hitting three triples over a five-possession span. Meanwhile, the Warriors got buckets from Jackson Koepke, who had four second half triples, and King. Caledonia stayed tentatively ahead on the scoreboard. A Simpson offensive rebound put-back had the Warriors up five, 54-49, with 3:05 left. Caledonia’s offensive pace had slowed as they looked to dribble/pass out victory. But a Colin Bonow steal and lay-up with 1:36 left made it a one-possession ballgame at 54-51. On an in-bounds play, King missed an open inside look. On L-A’s end, William Kreidermacher, a 5’6” freshman, somehow got his own miss amidst the trees, and scored making it 54-53 Warriors with 1:00 left! Caledonia then ran off 33 seconds before King was fouled. He hit the first free throw but not the second. It set up the conclusion; L-A’s ball down 55-53 with 0:22 left. The rock went to Menk. Though he’d hit the only four shots he took in the second half, a game-winning three was on-line, but off deep. Menk then found himself with the offensive rebound, but a desperation two-point toss before the buzzer was also no good. Brad King’s Warriors escaped 55-53! Koepke (20 pts, 4-9 threes, 5 rebs) and King (19 pts, 3-8 threes, 6 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls) led the way. Koepke, a 6’3” senior guard, hit all his threes and scored 14 points after halftime. King had 13 in the first half. Simpson added 7 points. Menk (18 pts, 4-8 threes, 8 rebs) and Bonow (15 pts, 3-6 threes, 4 rebs, 3 asts) paced L-A. Menk had 13 points in the second half on 5 of 7 shooting (the lone misses in the finals seconds). Kyle Frederickson chipped in 8 (pts) and 8 (rebs). L-A finished with 16 turnovers to Caledonia’s 10. Other numbers were pretty close. However, like the Triton game, Caledonia (21 of 49 > 43%) took more shots than the Cardinals (20 of 42 > 48%). The teams combined for 19 made threes; Caledonia 10 of 25 (40%), L-A 9 of 20 (45%). The Warriors beat the Cardinals 83-57 in January, but L-A was down key players including Bonow. Brad King’s group (27-1) moves on to the 1AA section title game. They’ll play #4 PEM (2-seed, 28-1), which beat Lake City 59-44 in another semifinal. The Bulldogs have won 14-straight since losing their only game of the year to Caledonia, 71-43 in late January. The Warriors have won nine straight.