The wait is over as Lake City rolls to Section 1, Class 2A boys basketball championship game

Mar. 14—ROCHESTER — The Lake City boys basketball team has been waiting all year for this moment.

It was last March that the Tigers saw their season end in heartbreak with a last-second 58-55 loss to Plainview-Elgin-Millville in the Section 1, Class 2A championship game.

Lake City left no doubt this time around as the Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the state, earned a state berth by toppling Hiawatha Valley League rival Cannon Falls 80-56 to claim the section title Thursday night at Mayo Civic Arena.

"Man, we had a chip on our shoulder all year," Lake City senior Hunter Lorenson said. "We kind of had a bad taste in our mouths. We came out and gave it our all and it kind of showed. We dominated on defense."

"Last year we got our heart pulled out of us at the end, and I love how they responded," Lake City coach Greg Berge said.

"We had to deal with that for a year so it just feels great," Lake City senior Keegan Ryan said. "It was extra motivation, but we didn't think about that, just kept moving forward."

The two teams had split a pair of games during the regular season, but this time top-seeded Lake City was way too much for the No. 3 Bombers to handle. The Tigers continued their season-long trend of playing stifling defense and they were also stellar on offense, shooting 35-for-60 from the field.

"We didn't really play great in our first two games against them," Lorenson said. "I knew if we played our best game, we'd have an easy win."

Lake City was on its game from the start. The offense was clicking and the defense was making it tough for the Bombers to score. Two players combined to score 38 of the 56 points for Cannon Falls as the Tigers were again in lock-down mode on defense.

"Coach stresses our defensive pressure," Ryan said. "We're lengthy, we're quick, we're athletic. It's super hard for teams if we play great man defense and we focus on that a lot."

Lorenson scored 15 of his 20 points as Lake City led 37-21 at the half. Things quickly got worse for the Bombers to start the second half. A quick 9-3 run by the Tigers made the score 46-24 with 15:35 still to play, but the competitive phase was all but over.

"It was a buzzsaw, it just snowballed," Cannon Falls coach Josh Davisson said.

"We didn't want to make it a close game so we had to deal with that situation again," Lorenson said.

Lake City had plenty of great individual performances. Seniors Ryan (17 points, 10 rebounds), Jaden Shones (14 points) and Rylee Fick (six points, 11 rebounds) along with junior reserve Josh Wohlers (11 points, 3-for-4 on 3-pointers) all came up big.

Lake City last went to the state tournament in 2019, so this will be a new experience for all the team's current players.

"This senior class has been a really committed class for a long time," Berge said.

Lorenson, Ryan and Shones are all four-year starters.

"We came out dominant and had complete confidence the whole game," Ryan said. "We were ready and we wanted it, we needed it."

The Tigers have had a stellar season, but have been resilient having been hit with some injuries and other off-court issues. That includes losing starter Jack Meincke with a season-ending injury.

"Our kids just stuck together and they just pulled for each other," Berge said. "... I'm proud of these guys and just excited for next week. We get one more week together."

Lake City (24-5) will play in the Class 2A state quarterfinals next Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Cannon Falls closes the season 24-6. It is the most wins the Bombers have ever had during a single season and it was their first time playing in the section title game. The Bombers were led by seniors Aiden Johnson and Dylan Banks, who both had 19 points.

"It didn't help that we didn't shoot particularly well," Davisson said, "but for as good as they are offensively, they're better defensively. We struggled in the half court against them."

Lake City 80, Cannon Falls 56

No. 3 CANNON FALLS (56)

Jack Meyers 4 P, 6 R; Ryan Hjellming 2 P; Aiden Johnson 19 P, 9 R, 4 3-PT; Dylan Banks 19 P, 4 A; Carson Henry 2 P, 5 R; Miles Rechtzigel 2 P; Gavin Johnson 3 P; Abram Tennessen 3 P; Grady Meyers 2 P.

No. 1 LAKE CITY (80)

Hunter Lorenson 17 P, 4 A, 3 3-PT; Josh Wohlers 11 P, 5 R, 3 3-PT; Gavyn Lorenson 7 P, 5 R; Keegan Ryan 17 P, 10 R, 4 A, 1 3-PT; Luke Narum 3 P, 1 3-PT; Jaden Shones 14 P, 4 R; Rylee Fick 6 P, 9 R; Alec McElmury 2 P; Connor Bergeson 3 P.

Halftime: LC 37, CF 21.

Free throws: CF 12-17, LC 2-6.

Three-point goals: CF 4, LC 8. Field goals: CF 20-52, LC 35-60.

Rebounds: CF 32, LC 42. Turnovers: CF 8, LC 10