One win from glory

This is exactly how it should be.

Thanks to an effort that was perhaps more gutsy than pretty, the Albany boys basketball team earned the chance to play for another state championship.

What was expected to be a nail-biting affair turned out to be exactly that, and despite some tenuous moments, the Huskies emerged from a physical and emotional contest with a 59-54 victory over Caledonia in the Minnesota State High School League Class AA State Tournament semifinals March 21 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Combine Waseca’s 68-60 victory over defending champion Breck, the result is a state championship matchup between a pair of undefeated juggernauts. Top-seeded Albany (31-0) will vie for its second title in three years against second-seeded Waseca (32-0) Saturday, March 22, on the same floor both earned hard-fought victories a night earlier.

“We knew it was going to be an absolute war,” said Cory Schlagel, Albany head coach. “They’ve got a lot of good physical athletes and are very well-coached. They try to dictate the pace and kind of beat you up in the half court on both ends of the floor. We got just enough out of our guys. We played with good pace in the first half but showed we can play a half-court game, too.”

Albany needed every bit of that sweat-equity. Thanks to a blistering start from senior Zeke Austin, who made his first four 3-pointers, and a cold start from the Warriors, the Huskies led 25-5 before the game was 11 minutes old.

That lead slowly evaporated as Caledonia (29-3), which features a tall, athletic and strong lineup, did something no team has been able to do this season – neutralize Albany slashing forward Sam Hondl.

Austin’s hot start, along with Braeden Justin draining three 3-pointers and Bennett Hylla and Brady Rueter each hitting one three, proved huge during a late first-half span when the Warriors aggressive defense mostly took away Albany’s inside game.

Sharpshooter Mason King — one of three Caledonia starters who are Austin’s cousins — hit 6 of 10 3-pointers and had 20 points.

The Warriors eventually pulled to a 50-50 tie with four minutes remaining, but Albany managed to keep its head above water and never trailed. Austin hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 20 seconds. He finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Hondl had eight of his 12 points in the second half.

“We knew at the beginning of the season what was achievable and what our goals were,” said Albany senior Elliott Burnett, whose five points all came in the second half. “Everything we’ve done throughout the whole season to get here made this happen.”
ALB      30   29-59
CLD      19   35-54
Albany: Austin 22 points (9 rebounds, 7 assists), Hondl 12 (6 rebounds, 3 assists), Justin 9, Burnett 5 (7R), Hylla 4, Brady Rueter 3 and Ethan Meyer 2. FG 20-45, 3-pointers 11-22, FT 8-12.