Class 2A state semifinal: Outstanding second half lifts Annandale over Caledonia

The first half's for show, second half's for dough.

That's the saying Annadale coach Skip Dolan and his four captains have preached the past few years.

"You really want to win this thing, a 10% dog has got to come out of you and fight for it," Dolan said.

Fight they did as the No. 3-seeded Cardinals put on a show in a 62-55 victory over No. 2 seed Caledonia in the boys' basketball Class 2A semifinals at Williams Arena.

Annandale trailed by 10 before cutting the deficit to 26-20 at the half, and Cardinals senior Carson Gagnon then propelled his team's 28-6 second-half run. He set the tone when he drained a three-pointer only 12 seconds into the second half.

"That really got me going," Gagnon said.

Annandale 6-6 senior forward Robert Olson got going, too, with a pair of two-handed dunks.

After Gagnon's fifth three-pointer of the second half, the sea of red Annandale fans held up signs with letters and numbers: "Carson 1,000," for his career milestone in points. He finished the game 8-for-14 from the field for 30 points, 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and 7-of-11 from long range.

For Caledonia (28-2), senior Eli King led with 24 points.

"We had a really nice first half defensively," said Caledonia coach Brad King. "Second half, we had a hard time scoring the basketball."

Caledonia shot 37% for the game, 33% in the second half.

Annandale (30-2) will face top-seeded Minneapolis North on Saturday while riding a 28-game winning streak.