The Mountain Lake boys' basketball program has a rich history within Minnesota state high school basketball, making a total of 15 state tournament appearances. They participated in the state's first-ever basketball tournament, a 13-team, statewide invitational in 1913, hosted at Carleton College in Northfield. Under coach Henry Griebenow, Mountain Lake narrowly lost to Fosston by a 29 - 27 score in the state's inaugural championship game. Mountain Lake's Peter Guenter was the first tournament's high scorer, with 71 total points, averaging 17.8 points over the tournament's 4 games. They were also state runners-up in the 1915 and 1917 tournaments.