Boys' basketball notes: Rushford-Peterson starter Kingsley suffers injury

Rushford-Peterson, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A, might be without senior starting guard Cole Kingsley for the rest of the tournament.

He left Williams Arena on crutches Thursday after suffering a right ankle injury with 6 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first half of the Trojans' 105-58 victory over Fond du Lac Ojibwe.

"Cole brings a lot of things to the table for us," Rushford-Peterson coach Tom Vix said. "He does a lot of the little things."

Kingsley didn't score in the victory, but he had four assists, one steal and one rebound in limited action. He is the team leader in assists and steals.

How focused was No. 1, 4A Champlin Park on the task ahead of it entering the state tournament?

When informed that the team had been nationally ranked for the first time this season — the Rebels entered the USA Today Super 25 at No. 22 this week — guard Jeremy Johnson was genuinely surprised.

"Really?" he said when a reporter told him where the team was ranked. "I don't think any of us knew that. That's nice recognition. I'll have to tell them."

DeLaSalle (26-4) seeks to become the third school to win four consecutive state championships. Minneapolis Henry achieved the feat from 2000-2003, also in Class 3A. Southwest Minnesota Christian did likewise from 1999-2002 in Class 1A.

Islanders' coach Dave Thorson said players understood the approaching milestone but didn't discuss it much.

"Saturday is the first opportunity we've had to win a fourth state title," Thorson said. "We've talked about getting to that day."

The Islanders' four losses this season were against Apple Valley, Cretin-Derham Hall and two of the top teams in Iowa. Three Division I-bound players lead the way: Sacar Anim (Marquette), Josh Collins (North Dakota) and Jarvis Johnson (Gophers).