ROCHESTER — The Caledonia High School boys basketball team made its depth count and continued to play the kind of defense that wins championships while competing for the MSHSL Section 1AA title at the Rochester Mayo Civic Arena on Thursday.
The top-seeded Warriors (28-2) shut down a Lake City roster that scored 81 points in the semifinal round and led throughout after a fast start in a 63-42 victory over the Tigers (19-10), who were trying to win the section for a second straight season.
Caledonia scored 12 of the first 13 points before Lake City closed to within eight by halftime. The Warriors then continued their defensive performance throughout the second half to pull away for the victory and their first section title since 2022. This is Caledonia’s 10th section championship since 1995.
“Man, it was impressive,” Caledonia coach Brad King said of the defensive effort, “I thought we did an even better job in the second half than we did in the first. We lost their shooter a couple of times in the first half, but it was hard for them to get a good look at the basket or a good drive to the basket.”
Senior Mason King made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead the Warriors in their 17th straight victory. Seniors Garrett Konz and Reid Klug added 13 apiece as Caledonia pulled away from its 28-20 halftime advantage.
They also got the Warriors off to a good start, which Brad King knew was going to be important.
“Sometimes, we’re not ready to go right away offensively,” he said. “Tonight, we were on. We had talked about some things we wanted to try and do against them, and they got it going right away.”
Freshman Grant King also scored 10 points for the Warriors, who have held seven straight opponents to less than 50 points.
“Who’d have thought that?” King asked when prompted to comment on the accomplishment. “One, it comes down to understanding the matchups and what the guys on the other team do well.
“And defense always comes down to effort, and we had that.”
Enjoy the following photos from Craig Johnson.
