ST. PAUL — Caledonia led the entire way against Morris/Chokio-Alberta, clinching third place in the Class AA state boys basketball tournament Saturday with a 74-58 victory at the Gangelhoff Center at Concordia University-St. Paul.
Leading the second-seeded Warriors (29-2) was senior guard Eli King. The Iowa State commit and Mr. Basketball finalist scored 35 points on 17 of 28 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds along with eight steals and four assists.
Jackson Koepke aided Caledonia’s efforts with 18 points and seven boards. Christopher Pieper was 4 of 5 shooting for eight points.
In his final game for the fifth-seeded Tigers, senior post Jackson Loge had a double-double. He was 10 of 24 shooting for 26 points, also hauling in 12 rebounds and blocking a pair of shots. Loge was the lone Morris/CA player named to the Class AA All-Tournament team.
Thomas Tiernan hit three of the Tigers’ four 3-pointers in a nine-point effort.
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The Warriors’ defense proved problematic, forcing the Tigers (28-4) into 20 turnovers and 38.6% shooting from the field.
In the Class AA championship, Annandale won its first state championship with a 60-49 win over Minneapolis North. The Cardinals shot 56.4% from the field. Hawkin Miller (18), Robert Olson (16) and Brady Spaulding (13) all finished in double figures for third-seeded Annandale (31-2). Demeiko Anderson and Willie Wilson each scored 14 to lead the top-seeded Polars (27-7).
Class AA third place
Caledonia 74, Morris/CA 58
Morris/CA (28-4) 26 32 — 58
Caledonia (29-2) 35 39 — 74
MORRIS/CHOKIO-ALBERTA - Scoring: Jackson Loge 26, Thomas Tiernan 9, Cole Wente 5, Durgin Decker 4, Tyler Berlinger 4, Sam Kleinwolterink 4, Brandon Jergenson 2, Ayden Schmidgall 2, Evan Oberg 2 … 3-point shots: Tiernan 3, Loge 1 … Rebound leader: Loge 12 … Assist leader: Decker 4 … Steal leader: Tiernan 3 ... Block leader: Loge 2
CALEDONIA - Scoring: Eli King 35, Jackson Koepke 18, Christopher Pieper 8, Thane Meiners 7, Mason King 3, Ethan Stendel 3 … 3-point shots: Koepke 2, Meiners 1, M. King 1, Stendel 1 … Rebound leader: E. King 14 … Assist leader: E. King 4 … Steal leader: E. King 8 ... Block leader: E. King 1, Stendel 1
