MINNEAPOLIS — The Caledonia High School boys basketball team gave top-seeded Albany all it wanted in an MSHSL Class AA semifinal at the Williams Arena on Friday night.
The unbeaten Huskies, who won the state championship two years ago and placed third last year, had a 20-point lead taken away by the fourth-seeded Warriors but found a way but scored nine of the final 13 points to collect a 59-54 victory that gives them a chance to play for the title on Saturday.
Caledonia (29-3) came back from a 20-point deficit in the first half to tie the game late in the second half before Albany (31-0) finished off the victory from the free-throw line.
Caledonia plays either second-seeded Waseca or third-seeded Breck School at 2 p.m. Saturday for third place. Waseca and Breck play the final game Friday night, and the third-place game will be played at Concordia’s Gangelhoff Center.
The Warriors never led by came back from disaster early and reeled in the Huskies with better shooting in the second half.
Senior Mason King tied the game at 50 on a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left, but Albany used two field goals and give free throws the rest of the way for the victory.
“I was thinking let’s get another defensive stop and a defensive rebound, which we did,” Caledonia coach Brad King said. “We got a good shot — Grant (King) had a nice little 4-footer or so (for the lead) — but it didn’t fall. It was a great look and a great play.”
Albany senior Zeke Austin made one free throw with 11.2 seconds left and two more with 9.9 seconds on the clock to complete a 22-point performance that also included nine rebounds and seven assists. Austin made 7 of 16 shots and went 5-for-9 from the 3-point line.
“He’s going to play in the NSIC, and he got it going a little at the beginning with his shooting,” Brad King said. “It’s not like you can take everything away from that kind of player, and he had a huge finish guy to get the ball to when that did happen.”
King led Caledonia with 20 points and made 6 of 10 3-point attempts. Senior Garrett Konz added 12 points and seven rebounds and senior Ethan Stendel 10 points and six boards.
The Warriors had a chance to tie the game at 54 with 1:23 left, but Grant King missed two free throws. Caledonia also turned the ball over during a possession with Albany leading 52-20 with 2:45 to go. The Warriors made just 9 of 19 free throws and went 6 for 15 on foul shots in the second half.
The Warriors fell behind early while making just 1 of their first 8 shots.
Albany made 6 of its first 8 and 6 of its first 7 3-point attempts and pulled away from a 3-3 tie to take a 25-5 lead with 7:11 left in the first half.
The Warriors clawed their way back with 30-19 by halftime and scored the first five points of the second half to tighten things up. The Huskies pushed their lead to 12 a few minutes later, but King’s 3-pointer that tied the game at 50 capped a 10-0 run for Caledonia.
“I thought we still had energy to win the basketball game,” Brad King said. “We knew we’d have to fight the whole game anyway, and even in the first half, when they were hitting shots, I thought we were defending well.
“If you would have told me before the game that they’d only have 30, I’d have been happy.”
King made two 3s and Stendel made two field goals during that 10-point run that tied the game.
