The 12-seeded Royalton Royals (11-15) gave the 5-seeded Osakis Silverstreaks a good battle in Wednesday’s Section 6AA playoff opener, which Osakis won 67-59.
Osakis (21-6) trailed 28-23 at halftime but outscored Royalton 44-31 in the second half.
“Royalton did a great job of taking us out of our rhythm offensively as we had trouble scoring the first half,” Osakis head coach Matt Hoelscher said. “We had good looks around the basket and from the three-point line, but they weren't falling. We started to play timid. We gave up offensive rebounds, struggled to stop penetration, and allowed Royalton to get easy post-up points.”
Mekai Hoelscher provided a nice spark with 12 points and made some big three-pointers in the second half.
“That momentum then opened up driving lanes for Stewart [Jones] and post touches for Kyle and Grant [Mages],” Coach Hoelscher said. “The Mages boys were able to get some offensive boards which helped extend our lead. Issac and drew didn't score much, but they did a great job defensively or attracting Royalton defenders, which opened up things for other players. Seth [Staloch] had some big minutes and rebounds as well. We found a way to win even though it wasn't pretty, but during playoff time, you take any win that you can as long as you advance.”
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Jones had a team-high 20 points, while Kyle Mages had a double-double, 15 points, and 13 rebounds, and Grant Mages totaled 14 points and nine rebounds.
Osakis plays the No. 4 seed Sauk Centre (19-7) in the Section 6AA quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at St. John’s University. Sauk Centre beat Rush City, 74-48 on Wednesday.
Sauk Centre beat Osakis, 70-67, in overtime on Feb. 25.
The winner of the Osakis-Sauk Centre game plays either the No. 1 seed Albany (25-1) or the No. 8 seed St. Cloud Cathedral (16-10) in the section semifinals on Wednesday, March 15 at 6 p.m.
Royalton - 28 31 - 59
Osakis - 23 44 - 67
OSAKIS TEAM STATS - FG - 21-47; 3-PT - 6-17; FT - 18-35; Assists - 7; Rebounds - 38; Steals - 3
OSAKIS PLAYER STATS - Stewart Jones - 20 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds; Grant Mages - 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal; Seth Staloch - 5 rebounds, 1 steal; Isaac Maddock - 3 points, 1 rebound; Kyle Mages - 15 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Drew Imdieke - 12 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds
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Other area basketball scores from March 8, 2023 -
BOYS BASKETBALL -
Border West (23-2) 70, Brandon-Evansville (6-21) 59 - Section 6A Playoffs
Hancock (13-13) 56, Parkers Prairie (11-14) 55 - Section 6A Playoffs
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (21-5) 58, Ashby (8-17) 42 - Section 6A Playoffs
