Posted: 12/18/07
Warriors boys run record to 3-0 with two wins last week
 Caledonia's Kyle Runningen and St. Charles' Dylan Hansen got tangled up, as they fought for this loose ball druing the Warriors' 58-55 win last week. (Photo by Reed Welch) |
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
"To be 3-0 at this point of the season, when you figure our kids were winning the state football championship while our opponents were in the gym working on their basketball skills, says a lot for our kids. Most of the teams in our area had a three-week jump on us. Our kids are really playing well together."
That's the way Caledonia boys basketball coach Josh Diersen summed up the first two weeks of the season. The Warriors have gone 3-0 with two more wins last week over St. Charles 58-55 and Kingsland 53-44.
CHS 58 SCHS 55
On Tuesday, Dec. 11, the St. Charles Saints came to town and left with a three-point loss. The Warriors maintained a six to eight point lead much of the game. A Saint threw up a half-court shot at the buzzer that was good, pulling the visitors within three points for the final score.
The Warriors held a lead for most of the game, leading by eight points, 27-19 at the halftime break.
Neither team could get any offensive flow going, according to Diersen, as both teams spent the majority of the night at the free throw line. Caledonia made 16 of 26 free shots, while the Saints hit 18-31.
"Shooting 57 free throws in the high school game tells you what kind of game it was,"' Diersen said. "It wasn't a real physical game, but the refs are calling a tighter game. They aren't allowing any hands on or a physical game. I don't think the kids are used to the change yet. All those free throws certainly took any flow out of the game."
Junior Ryan Goetzinger led the Warriors with 25 points and five rebounds. Craig Loeffler and Bobby Augedahl each scored 11 points. Loeffler had five rebounds and five assists, while Augedahl had six rebounds. Alex Klug had five points, Kody Moore and Cody Haugstad each had three points and Kevin Voight scored one point, and had a team-high 9 rebounds.
CHS 55 KHS 44
The Warriors traveled to Spring Valley Friday night to battle an always tough Kingsland Knight team. The Knights took an early lead, and appeared to be controlling the tempo of the game, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half.
During a scramble for a loose ball at the six minute mark, Kingsland's star player Josh Hagen hit his head on the floor and had to leave the game due to a gash that required stitches. The Knights were leading by six points at the time. The Warriors played Kingsland even the remainder of the first half, and went into the lockeroom at halftime trailing by six, 27-23.
"We made some adjustments in the second half," Diersen said. "Without Hagen, we were able to use a 1-3-1 half-court trap to our advantage. We took over the tempo of the game and were able to win by nine points."
Loeffler had a big night for the Warriors, recording his first double-double of the season. The senior guard had 20 points, 10 steals and two rebounds. Goetzinger also had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Moore also hit double figures with 12 points to go along with six rebounds. Augedahl added seven points, five steals and four assists and Alex Schleich had two points for the Warriors.
The Warriors hit nine of 15 free throws (60 percent) but shot just 36 percent from the field.
"We haven't been shooting real well so far this season," Diersen noted. "But once we do, I really feel we will be tough to beat. The kids have been working very hard to catch up. I does make a big difference starting out that far behind (as far as practice is concerned), but the chemistry is there. We've got the momentum right now. I am very pleased with the way the kids are playing."
This week
The Warriors hosted the Dover-Eyota Eagles Tuesday night and will travel to Rushford to take on the always tough R-P Trojans Friday night.
Three Rivers Conference
standings
Conf. Overall
PEM 3-0 3-0
Caledonia 3-0 3-0
Lewiston-Alt. 2-0 3-1
Chatfield 2-0 2-1
Fillmore Cent. 1-1 1-1
Rushford-Pet. 1-1 1-2
Kingsland 1-2 2-2
St. Charles 0-2 1-2
Southland 0-2 1-3
Dover-Eyota 0-2 0-2
Wabasha-Kell. 0-3 0-4
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