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Mar. 7—ROCHESTER — At last year's state tournament, the Goodhue boys basketball team watched Caledonia play in its Class 2A games, knowing the Wildcats would most likely move up a class and join them the following season.
Perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing, as this year's Section 1, Class 2A title game will be a tale of the two defending section champs.
After making the past four Section 1, Class 1A championship games, top-seeded Goodhue will compete for the Section 1-2A title next week. They will meet the No. 6-seeded Warriors, who won last season's Section 1-2A title, at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Mayo Civic Auditorium.
The Class 2A No. 2-ranked Wildcats advanced to their fifth consecutive section final with an 83-71 victory over No. 5 Triton during the Section 1, Class 2A semifinals on Saturday at Mayo Civic Auditorium.
Caledonia pulled off a thrilling overtime upset during the following game, taking down No. 2 seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa, 58-55.
Throughout the first half, there were 10 lead changes between the first-seeded Wildcats and No. 5 Triton.
Tied at 39 apiece at halftime, it was still anyone's game. Goodhue came back out in the second half and pulled away 83-71 to defeat the Cobras in the semifinals.
"I was proud of the boys, how they stayed the course in the first half," Goodhue coach Matt Halverson said. "We didn't get rattled, and then kind of turned it up there in the second half. Really, in the second half, it wasn't really anything X and O that was different.
"It was just making sure that we got our hands up on their shooters ... because I thought our hands were down way too much, and gave them wide-open threes, and ultimately, that's why they made so many. We were not defending the three-point line very well."
Sophomore Alex Loos led the way for Goodhue with 27 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior Owen Roschen added three more 3-point baskets and ended the day with 20 points. His older brother, senior Luke Roschen, contributed 18 points in the win.
Senior Pierce Petersohn, who will play Division I college football for Virginia Tech this fall, was phenomenal as usual for the Cobras, tallying a game-high 38 points. He was one point shy of the 39 he had against Rushford-Peterson in the quarterfinals on Monday.
"Triton is obviously very good, Petersohn is just a handful," Halverson said. "The thing that I like about him most is that he's not cocky, he's not arrogant, he's just level-headed. And compliments to him and the whole Triton team for ... giving us everything that we wanted against them."
The Wildcats (28-1) dominated in Section 1-1A for years — now they will see if they can do the same in the next class up.
"We knew when we had them as eighth graders, ninth grade, 10th graders, that they were going to be a special group, but how early they got special was amazing," Halverson said. "And so now it's nice to see them still getting these accolades and still getting these championships. Even though they had success early, they didn't rest on their laurels. They didn't get fat and happy. They've increased their game year after year. And so that's what makes us better this year than last year. Some teams plateau, and this is a team that hasn't plateaued."
To keep the state tournament streak alive, they will have to get past the red-hot Warriors.
"We knew watching Caledonia up at the state tournament, just how big and strong they were and what it was going to take to physically get to that point and that skill," said sophomore Cody Ryan, who scored 12 points for the Wildcats on Saturday. "And we knew that 2A, especially, was just bigger people."
The Cobras end their season with a 25-5 record.
Goodhue 83, Triton 71
TRITON (71)
Braxton Koss 7 P, 1 3-PT; Pierce Petersohn 38 P, 2 3-PT; Graden Thomas 2 P; Garet Jensen 11 P, 1 3-PT; William Thiemann 9 P, 2 3-PT; Wade Swenson 4 P.
GOODHUE (83)
Luke Roschen 18 P, 2 3-PT; Alex Loos 27 P, 3 3-PT; Owen Roschen 20 P, 3 3-PT; Michael Roschen 6 P; Cody Ryan 12 P, 2 3-PT.
Halftime: TRI 39, GOOD 39.
Free throws: TRI 11-14, GOOD 13-28.
Three-point goals: TRI 6, GOOD 10.
ROCHESTER — After making the state tournament and falling in the Class 2A semifinals a year ago, Caledonia graduated nearly a dozen seniors, including three of its top starters. The Warriors' record coming into the section tournament was not what they hoped it would be, having dealt with growing pains that come with a rather young roster.
The Warriors drew the sixth-seed in the tournament, and it seemed they were in for a challenge if they wanted to defend their section title.
"We've just been consistent the last three, four games here on the defensive end and making shots, and it's been a lot of fun," Caledonia assistant coach Bob Burmester said.
Caledonia, now 7-3 in its last 10 games, once again proved that seeding in the section tournament doesn't mean much.
"To start (the season) we did pretty good, middle is a little bumpy in there," sophomore Grant King said. "Towards the end, we finished well, and then coming into the tournament, we've been playing a lot better with those games that helped us during the regular season to get better. ... We played a lot more physical with these teams than we have with any other team we played in the regular season."
King is the Warriors' main returner from last year's state tournament team. He has stepped into more of a leadership role this season, and it's shown. King notched a team-high 26 points for Caledonia as the Warriors took down No. 2 seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa in the semifinals for the second consecutive year to advance to the section title game.
"It felt amazing, beating a team that," King said. "They're really good, really big. We had to bring a lot of energy to the whole game just to compete as hard as we can and win and come out on top. ... We're a lot smaller, but we definitely played our hearts out there, rebounding for sure."
The Cougars held onto a 48-43 lead in the waning minutes of regulation. A bucket from Caledonia senior Zeke Gengler from beyond the arc closed the gap to three points with 1:57 left. Then, senior Aaron Stemper hit what would be the game-tying jumper to force overtime.
Z-M jumped out to a 53-50 lead during the four-minute overtime period, but Caledonia had a little more juice left in the tank. King scored eight of Caledonia's 10 overtime points, including four free throws to seal the deal for the Warriors.
Stemper and sophomore Colin Stemper added eight points each for the Warriors.
Back-to-back three pointers from senior Hudson Ohm put Z-M up 23-19 with 6:43 to play in the first half. The Cougars were ahead 30-29 at the half.
Senior Backster Averndt led the way for Z-M with 19 points. Ohm added 14 and senior Ethan Miller contributed 12. The Cougars end their season 23-5.
The Warriors improve to 18-10 overall. Next up is No. 1 Goodhue.
"It's going to be a battle, absolutely," Burmester said. "But we're going to try and control what we can control, make sure our guys are ready, healthy. Coach Halverson is a phenomenal coach, one of the best in the state, but I think we have a pretty good coach also. We'll try and ... play as hard as we can and see what happens."
Caledonia 58, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 55 OT
CALEDONIA (58)
Ezekiel Gentler 7 P, 1 3-PT; Colin Stemper 8 P, 2 3-PT; Jacoby Hammell 2 P; Grant King 26 P, 2 3-PT; Jacob Klug 7 P, 1 3-PT; Aaron Stemper 8 P.
ZUMBROTA-MAZEPPA (55)
Grady Streit 6 P, 2 3-PT; Backster Averndt 19 P, 1 3-PT; Hudson Ohm 14 P, 1 3-PT; Ethan Miller 12 P, 1 3-PT; Karsten Miller 4 P.
Halftime: ZM 30, CAL 29.
Free throws: CAL 12-18, ZM 12-13.
Three-point goals: CAL 6, ZM 5.
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Perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing, as this year's Section 1, Class 2A title game will be a tale of the two defending section champs.
After making the past four Section 1, Class 1A championship games, top-seeded Goodhue will compete for the Section 1-2A title next week. They will meet the No. 6-seeded Warriors, who won last season's Section 1-2A title, at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Mayo Civic Auditorium.
The Class 2A No. 2-ranked Wildcats advanced to their fifth consecutive section final with an 83-71 victory over No. 5 Triton during the Section 1, Class 2A semifinals on Saturday at Mayo Civic Auditorium.
Caledonia pulled off a thrilling overtime upset during the following game, taking down No. 2 seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa, 58-55.
Throughout the first half, there were 10 lead changes between the first-seeded Wildcats and No. 5 Triton.
Tied at 39 apiece at halftime, it was still anyone's game. Goodhue came back out in the second half and pulled away 83-71 to defeat the Cobras in the semifinals.
"I was proud of the boys, how they stayed the course in the first half," Goodhue coach Matt Halverson said. "We didn't get rattled, and then kind of turned it up there in the second half. Really, in the second half, it wasn't really anything X and O that was different.
"It was just making sure that we got our hands up on their shooters ... because I thought our hands were down way too much, and gave them wide-open threes, and ultimately, that's why they made so many. We were not defending the three-point line very well."
Sophomore Alex Loos led the way for Goodhue with 27 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior Owen Roschen added three more 3-point baskets and ended the day with 20 points. His older brother, senior Luke Roschen, contributed 18 points in the win.
Senior Pierce Petersohn, who will play Division I college football for Virginia Tech this fall, was phenomenal as usual for the Cobras, tallying a game-high 38 points. He was one point shy of the 39 he had against Rushford-Peterson in the quarterfinals on Monday.
"Triton is obviously very good, Petersohn is just a handful," Halverson said. "The thing that I like about him most is that he's not cocky, he's not arrogant, he's just level-headed. And compliments to him and the whole Triton team for ... giving us everything that we wanted against them."
The Wildcats (28-1) dominated in Section 1-1A for years — now they will see if they can do the same in the next class up.
"We knew when we had them as eighth graders, ninth grade, 10th graders, that they were going to be a special group, but how early they got special was amazing," Halverson said. "And so now it's nice to see them still getting these accolades and still getting these championships. Even though they had success early, they didn't rest on their laurels. They didn't get fat and happy. They've increased their game year after year. And so that's what makes us better this year than last year. Some teams plateau, and this is a team that hasn't plateaued."
To keep the state tournament streak alive, they will have to get past the red-hot Warriors.
"We knew watching Caledonia up at the state tournament, just how big and strong they were and what it was going to take to physically get to that point and that skill," said sophomore Cody Ryan, who scored 12 points for the Wildcats on Saturday. "And we knew that 2A, especially, was just bigger people."
The Cobras end their season with a 25-5 record.
Goodhue 83, Triton 71
TRITON (71)
Braxton Koss 7 P, 1 3-PT; Pierce Petersohn 38 P, 2 3-PT; Graden Thomas 2 P; Garet Jensen 11 P, 1 3-PT; William Thiemann 9 P, 2 3-PT; Wade Swenson 4 P.
GOODHUE (83)
Luke Roschen 18 P, 2 3-PT; Alex Loos 27 P, 3 3-PT; Owen Roschen 20 P, 3 3-PT; Michael Roschen 6 P; Cody Ryan 12 P, 2 3-PT.
Halftime: TRI 39, GOOD 39.
Free throws: TRI 11-14, GOOD 13-28.
Three-point goals: TRI 6, GOOD 10.
ROCHESTER — After making the state tournament and falling in the Class 2A semifinals a year ago, Caledonia graduated nearly a dozen seniors, including three of its top starters. The Warriors' record coming into the section tournament was not what they hoped it would be, having dealt with growing pains that come with a rather young roster.
The Warriors drew the sixth-seed in the tournament, and it seemed they were in for a challenge if they wanted to defend their section title.
"We've just been consistent the last three, four games here on the defensive end and making shots, and it's been a lot of fun," Caledonia assistant coach Bob Burmester said.
Caledonia, now 7-3 in its last 10 games, once again proved that seeding in the section tournament doesn't mean much.
"To start (the season) we did pretty good, middle is a little bumpy in there," sophomore Grant King said. "Towards the end, we finished well, and then coming into the tournament, we've been playing a lot better with those games that helped us during the regular season to get better. ... We played a lot more physical with these teams than we have with any other team we played in the regular season."
King is the Warriors' main returner from last year's state tournament team. He has stepped into more of a leadership role this season, and it's shown. King notched a team-high 26 points for Caledonia as the Warriors took down No. 2 seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa in the semifinals for the second consecutive year to advance to the section title game.
"It felt amazing, beating a team that," King said. "They're really good, really big. We had to bring a lot of energy to the whole game just to compete as hard as we can and win and come out on top. ... We're a lot smaller, but we definitely played our hearts out there, rebounding for sure."
The Cougars held onto a 48-43 lead in the waning minutes of regulation. A bucket from Caledonia senior Zeke Gengler from beyond the arc closed the gap to three points with 1:57 left. Then, senior Aaron Stemper hit what would be the game-tying jumper to force overtime.
Z-M jumped out to a 53-50 lead during the four-minute overtime period, but Caledonia had a little more juice left in the tank. King scored eight of Caledonia's 10 overtime points, including four free throws to seal the deal for the Warriors.
Stemper and sophomore Colin Stemper added eight points each for the Warriors.
Back-to-back three pointers from senior Hudson Ohm put Z-M up 23-19 with 6:43 to play in the first half. The Cougars were ahead 30-29 at the half.
Senior Backster Averndt led the way for Z-M with 19 points. Ohm added 14 and senior Ethan Miller contributed 12. The Cougars end their season 23-5.
The Warriors improve to 18-10 overall. Next up is No. 1 Goodhue.
"It's going to be a battle, absolutely," Burmester said. "But we're going to try and control what we can control, make sure our guys are ready, healthy. Coach Halverson is a phenomenal coach, one of the best in the state, but I think we have a pretty good coach also. We'll try and ... play as hard as we can and see what happens."
Caledonia 58, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 55 OT
CALEDONIA (58)
Ezekiel Gentler 7 P, 1 3-PT; Colin Stemper 8 P, 2 3-PT; Jacoby Hammell 2 P; Grant King 26 P, 2 3-PT; Jacob Klug 7 P, 1 3-PT; Aaron Stemper 8 P.
ZUMBROTA-MAZEPPA (55)
Grady Streit 6 P, 2 3-PT; Backster Averndt 19 P, 1 3-PT; Hudson Ohm 14 P, 1 3-PT; Ethan Miller 12 P, 1 3-PT; Karsten Miller 4 P.
Halftime: ZM 30, CAL 29.
Free throws: CAL 12-18, ZM 12-13.
Three-point goals: CAL 6, ZM 5.
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