Warriors Claim Third Place at State

Caledonia boys basketball finished another excellent season. The Warriors won their final game of 2021-2022. And though it wasn’t for the state title, they added their mark to Caledonia tradition. 

Fast Start Sends Caledonia Over Perham in Quarterfinals

Last year, Caledonia made it to the state finals. This year, the Warriors (2-seed, 27-1, Section 1AA champion) entered their state quarterfinal contest versus Perham (unseeded, 18-10, Section 8AA champion) at Target Center having vociferously fought past PEM in the 1AA finals. In the early going versus the Yellow Jackets, those experiences weighted the game in the Warriors favor. An unphased Cal group came out scoring the first 12 points of the game. An Eli King dunk was the game’s first bucket. The Warriors hit their first four shots. Perham swam against the current the rest of the game. Brad King’s Warriors led by as many as 17 in the first half twice including 27-10.  The Yellow Jackets spurted 8-0 late in the half to pulled to down nine (27-18). Cal went to half up 29-18. In the second stanza, Caledonia led by as many as 16. A 7-0 Yellow Jacket run mid-half cut into the Warriors last 16-point advantage. Cal led 42-33 with 7:17 left. But King, who checked every stat column, replied with a floater in the lane. Ja’Shon Simpson then scored three more points to make it a 5-0 Warrior run. Perham kept within site of the boat, but not close enough to grab ahold or climb in.  The Warriors controlled things, moving on to a state semi by a 51-40 final. King, a Mr. Minnesota Basketball finalist, led the Warrior effort. He led his team in all five statistical categories (17 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 6 stls, 4 blks). Simpson (11 pts, 7 rebs) and Thane Meiners (10 pts, 4-7 FGs, 2-4 threes) also hit double figures. Meiners had eight points (two threes) in Caledonia’s 20-3 start. Jackson Koepke chipped in 8 points. Micah Thompson, a 6’4” senior guard, led the way for the Jackets (14 pts, 6-12 FGs, 11 rebs). Soren Anderson, a 6’4” junior guard, chipped in 9 (pts), 4 (rebs), and 4 (asts). The big start was the key, as Perham didn’t get its second field goal until 8:09 left in the first half. They began the game 1 of 8 shooting with seven turnovers.  The Warriors (19 of 42 > 45%) out-shot the Yellow Jackets (16 of 43 > 37%).  The Warriors also won at the free throw line 7 of 10 (70%) to 3 of 11 (27%).  Perham was 2 of 9 in the first half at the charity stripe. As is typical, Cal won the turnover battle too, triggering 17, surrendering 13. The Warriors (28-1) moved on to face tourney 3-seed Annandale (29-2). The Cardinals beat Pequot Lakes 55-40 in the quarters. 

Annandale Little Man 

Bombs Away Warriors 

State Title Hopes

Basketball is often a game of size and/or length. The starting line-ups of Caledonia (2-seed, 28-1) and Annandale (3-seed, 29-2) featured a pair of Cardinal players at or around 6’6”. The Warriors start three guys around 6’3”. Yet the state Class AA semifinal between the two teams at Williams Arena was basically decided by Annandale’s 5’8” senior guard Carson Gagnon. His huge second half was monster in leading his team to victory. Caledonia was the team most control in the first stanza. Iowa State signee Eli King pumped in 14 points, including scoring 10 straight at one point. He guided the Warriors on a 10-2 run and to a 24-14 lead. By halftime, the Warriors were still up 26-20. But Gagnon had ended Caledonia’s first half 10-2 run with a four-point play. In the second half, he was on fire. His shots were near NBA threes. He drilled three trifectas in the first 3:30 of action, as Annandale scored the first 11 points of the half to lead 31-26. Minutes later, he hit three more triples. It was part of a span where the Cardinals scored on six of seven possessions. They went on a 15-0 run, this after Caledonia had closed to down 33-32. With under 6 minutes left, Annandale led 48-32. The Warriors at that point were 3 of 14 shooting in the second half, and had been out-scored 28-6. But they kept fighting, scoring seven straight points to get the lead back into single digits at 48-39. The Warriors frenetic defense triggered a cluster of five turnovers.  Annandale scored just two points in a nine-possession span. But Cal struggled to score too, and still trailed 50-41 with two minutes left. The Warriors hit four three-pointers thereafter, but Annandale hit 10 of 16 free throws down the stretch. The closest Brad King’s group got was seven at 62-55, which was the final score. Caledonia’s dream of a reaching a second straight AA title was squelched. Gagnon did the squelching. He played all 36-minutes, hitting 7 of 10 threes, and 7 of 7 free throws for a game-high 30 points. Annandale starting big men of 6’6” Robert Olson (11 pts, 4-5 FGs, 3-4 FTs) and 6’7” Brady Spaulding (9 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts) were his best help. Hawkin Miller chipped in 8 points. Naturally, Eli King led the Warriors (24 pts, 10 rebs, 5 asts, 6 stls). He was most active in the first half and late in the game. He was generally held at bay during the Cardinals’ game-clinching run, scoring just four second half points until the final two minutes. Jackson Koepke (13 pts, 3-11 threes) also hit double figures. Ja’Shon Simpson chipped in 9 (pts) and 4 (rebs). Behind Gagnon’s hot shooting, Annandale scorched the nets in the second half, finishing the stanza 13 of 19 (68%). They were 20 of 39 for the game (51%). The Cardinals’ length helped limit Caledonia to 10 of 32 shooting in the second half (31%), 20 of 55 for the game (36%). Annandale was 6 of 10 from deep in the second half after going 1 of 7 in the first. Because of late-game fouling situations, the Cardinals were “plus” at the free throw line 15 of 24 (63%) to 9 of 10 (90%). Annandale protected the ball enough (15 turnovers to Cal’s 12) to dictate a half-court game. Caledonia had a few fast break baskets (10 to 2), but not enough. It was the Warriors first loss since falling to DeForest, Wisconsin on February 7. An 11-game win streak was snapped. Caledonia moved on to play Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (5-seed 28-3). 

King’s Swansong 

Highlight Reel Leads 

Warriors to Third Place 

Over the years, Caledonia’s Eli King has been a force of nature, on the football field particularly his sophomore year, and on the basketball court. Sensational athletes like him don’t come along too often in small towns, even in Caledonia, where sports are significant and strong teams have been a staple. It made King’s last high school basketball game, the Class AA Third Place contest as the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, that much more a fitting end. Versus Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (5-seed, 28-3), the Warrior senior was spectacular in leading his team to a victory. Caledonia jumped out 9-1 and 13-2. They then led the duration, by as few as six (29-23) to as many as 22 late (74-52). Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta has their own standout, 6’8” senor center Jackson Loge. He was spectacular in his own right, not allowing his team to fall too far behind the Warriors for most of the game. The senior center is the son of Kevin Loge, a heralded Minnesota Prep recruit in the late 1990s who played a spell at the University of Minnesota. But King and his teammates’ efforts weren’t to be outdone, despite the fact starting guard Ja’Shon Simpson didn’t play per an ankle injury suffered in the semifinals. The game was up-tempo, or right up Caledonia’s alley. It was to King’s liking. The senior scored a game-high 33 points (16-27 FGs) with 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 7 steals. He had six dunks. Two were highlight reel impressive; a go-right down-second-street (just off of main) and throw-down, and a go-left and posturize the 6’8” Loge, both in a half-court set. He also sprinted back for blocks and dove for loose balls, setting the hustling Warrior tone. When the dust was settled, Caledonia ended their 2021-2022 season with a win, 74-58, and the state Class AA Third Place trophy. Senior Jackson Koepke (15 pts, 9 rebs) neared a double-double in support of King. Chris Pieper (8 pts, 4-6 FGs, 5 rebs), Thane Meiners (7 pts, 5 rebs), and Mason King (6 pts) gave the Warriors maybe their most balanced attack of the state playoffs. Pieper threw down a two-handed dunk in transition. Loge led MACA with a big double-double (28 pts, 13 rebounds). Thomas Tiernan added 9 points (3-6 threes). The Warriors forced 20 Tiger turnovers. They shot 32 of 68 from the field (47%) while MACA was 22 of 56 (39%).  Caledonia’s excellent season ends at 29-2. They’ll bring more hardware back to 825 North Warrior Avenue. Brad King will graduate an excellent seven-man senior class of his third son Eli, Koepke, Simpson, Pieper, Meiners, Austin Meyer, and Blake Morrow. The team Caledonia fell to in the semifinals, Annandale, beat Minneapolis-North 60-49 to claim the AA state title. The Cardinals ended the regular season ranked #8 in AA. Caledonia was #1 and North #2. MACA ended the season ranked #5. Totino Grace, which the Warriors beat via epic comeback during the season, claimed the Class AAA title over DeLaSalle 50-44. King, who is a Mr. Minnesota Basketball finalist with Minnehaha Academy’s Prince Aligbe, Park Center’s Braeden Carrington, South St. Paul’s Alonzo Dodd, and Cretin-Durham Hall’s Tre Holloman, made the Class AA All-Tourney team alongside Jackson Koepke. King averaged 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5 assists, 6.3 steals, and 2 blocks per game for the tourney. Koepke chipped in 12 points per game.