SAINT PAUL — The Caledonia High School boys basketball team couldn’t come back from a tough first half in its final game of the season on Saturday.
The Warriors (28-4) battled back from a 20-point deficit to tie top-seeded Albany i an MSHSL Class AA semifinal on Friday, but The Breck School used a fast start to score a 98-79 victory over fourth-seeded Caledonia in the third-place game at the Gangelhoff Center at Concordia University on Saturday.
Senior Ethan Stendel had 29 points and 18 rebounds for Caledonia, which beat Minnehaha Academy in Tuesday’s quarterfinal before the loss to Albany on Friday. Senior Reid Klug added 26 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, who were down 56-35 after one half after allowing Breck to score the final 21 points.
Stendel made 11 of 16 shots, while Klug made 9 of 16.
A Stendel dunk gave the Warriors a 22-20 lead with 9 minutes, 47 seconds left in the first, but they didn’t score again until the second half.
Caledonia had 17 turnovers, and those led to 28 Breck points.
