ROCHESTER — The Caledonia High School boys basketball team had the MSHSL Section 1AA team on the ropes Thursday night, but Goodhue found a way to escape trouble and earn a trip to the Class AA state tournament.
The sixth-seeded Warriors, who beat the section’s third seed in the quarterfinal round and its second seed in the semifinals, were within two points of Goodhue late and missed on a chance to take the lead before dropping a 76-71 decision at the Mayo Civic Arena.
Caledonia (18-11) received a team-high 27 points from senior Aaron Stemper and 23 from sophomore Grant King, but Goodhue (29-1) outscored them by 10 points in the second half to earn the chance to continue its season.
Stemper, King, senior Zeke Gangler and junior Jacob Klug all made late 3-pointers as Caledonia tried to stop the Wildcats from pulling away, but a foul on a loose ball after two missed Goodhue free throws in the closing seconds denied the Warriors a chance to tie the game when it trailed 74-71.
Stemper made five 3-pointers before fouling out, and Klug’s 3 — for his only points of the game — had Caledonia within 73-69 with 16 seconds left in a game that was last tied at 47.
King scored more than 20 points in Caledonia’s final four games and made four 3-pointers against Goodhue, which is state-bound for the third straight year after qualifying for the Class A field the past two seasons.
Junior Coby Hammell also scored 11 points for the Warriors.
Craig Johnson sent us some photos from the game …
