Cannon Falls Season Ends in Subsection Final Again

Following the Cannon Falls Bombers 49-42 loss to the Rochester Lourdes Eagles on Saturday in Rochester, Cannon Falls head coach Josh Davisson said his team just can't seem to get past that level. It was the third straight year the Bombers were eliminated in the subsection championship. Last year, they appeared to have the game in hand when it slipped away in the final seconds against Byron. The No. 6-seed had knocked off third-seeded Dover-Eyota and second-seeded Byron to get to Saturday's game.

Despite being without one of their starters, Cannon Falls gave the Eagles all they could handle. Rochester Lourdes was the top seed in the West Subsection of Section 1 Class AA. The Eagles had a 21-18 lead at the half.

Cannon Falls had no answer for senior James Ustby. The strong post player collected 21 points and was nine of 13 from the free throw line. Senior Nick Hanson added 11 points for Lourdes. The Bombers were led by freshman Ryan Dirckx and junior Tanner Carlson with 12 and 11 points each.

The points in the Althoff Hardware paint were truly huge in the contest: Lourdes had 30 and Cannon Falls had 18. The Eagles play Caledonia on Thursday for the section title and a trip to state. Game time is 6 p.m.