Caledonia Cruises Into Title Game

The Caledonia Warriors were relentless in their pursuit of victory against the Maple River Eagles in a Class AA semifinal game at Target Center on Friday night. Their vise grip defense flustered a very good Maple River team and Caledonia was up 19-4 less than 10 minutes into the game. The final was 74-58.

The No. 2-rated and No. 2-seeded Warriors led by 21 at the half over the No. 6-ranked and No. 3-seeded Eagles. Maple River got the lead down to 15 just a few minutes into the second half, but Caledonia got their focus back and, led by freshman Owen King's incredible three-point shooting display, made it a no doubter. King was four of seven from behind the three-point line and collected 18 points in 29 minutes. Six-foot-7 senior Kyle Sorenson added 17 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes, and 6-foot junior Colton Lampert tallied 13 points in 30 minutes.

The Warriors trap just as Maple River crossed the time line produced numerous turnovers and a 12-0 advantage on fast break points. The other key statistic was a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint. The Eagles lost for just the fourth time this season. Six-foot-2 senior Jonah Breiter had 18 points, six rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes, and 6-foot-1 sophomore Jeff Lewis added 15 points in 17 minutes of action.

The Gopher Conference champion Maple River will play top-rated and top-seeded St. Croix Lutheran for third place at Concordia University in St. Paul. Melrose Area continued their Cinderella hopes with a 55-40 win. Melrose Area was equally impressive in their victory and the Class AA title game at 1 p.m. should be a good one. It'll be interesting to see if Melrose Area attacks the basket when the Warriors slap on the half-court trap.

Tip time is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be on KDHL 920AM, kdhlradio.com and can be obtained on your favorite mobile device by downloading the free Radio Pup app.