The Osakis boys basketball team had big second half against Little Falls on Monday as it erased a two-point deficit at halftime by outscroing Little Falls 45-24 in the second half to earn an 81-62 win at home.
“Our guys battled to the end and played physical all game which allows us to pull away with six minutes left,” Osakis head coach Matt Hoelscher said. “I’m proud of how our guys made the adjustment at halftime which allowed us to get stops on the defensive end turn those into transition points. We struggled getting through screens, stopping penetration, and scoring late in the second half, but we brought great energy and discipline the last half of the game.”
Stewart Jones finished with a near double-double on the night, 25 points and nine rebounds, while Isaac Maddock had 23 points and Kyle Mages had 20 points.
“Issac, Kyle, and Stewart had huge nights offensively for us as all of them were making shots from the three point and free throw line,” Hoelscher said. “Seth [Staloch] gave great minutes as grant had field triple early on as he found open spaces around the basket, and he did a great job impacting shots on defense. Drew [Imdieke] did some great things defensively as he's so good at recognizing what the other team wants to do and he's able to put himself in position to make a play. Grant [Mages] and Mekai [Hoelscher] didn't score a lot, but they contribute in other ways by handling the ball, rebounding, passing, and being a threat on offense. Because teams have to account for them, it opens up opportunities for other guys, and that's what we got.”
Osakis (15-5, 3-1 Section 6AA) has a big Section 6AA battle on Tuesday at home against Melrose (12-7, 2-3 Section 6AA) at 7:15 p.m.
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Osakis is the fourth-highest rated Class 6AA team in Minnesota-scores.net, while Melrose is fifth-higest.
Little Falls - 38 24 - 62
Osakis - 36 45 - 81
OSAKIS TEAM STATS - FG - 27-52; 3-PT; FT - 18-25; Assists - 12; Blocks - 8; Rebounds - 24; Steals - 10; Deflections - 2; Fouls - 10; Turnovers - 11
OSAKIS PLAYER STATS - Stewart Jones - 25 points, 4 assists, 1 block, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 deflection; Grant Mages - 3 points, 2 blocks, 4 rebounds, 1 steal; Seth Staloch - 4 points, 3 blocks; Isaac Maddock - 23 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 deflection; Kyle Mages - 20 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Drew Imdieke - 4 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound; McCarter Kirksey - 1 rebound
Defense leads the way for Minnewaska girls
The Minnewaska girls led 31-26 at halftime on Monday against Osakis, but went on to win by 26 points after holding Osakis to nine points in the second half.
“It was kind of a tale of two halves,” Osakis head coach Pat Kalpin said. “In the first half, we competed and did some really good things on both ends of the floor. We were able to work the ball for good shots and attack the basket and get the FT line. In the second half, we were off balance the entire half. We didn't share the ball as well as we did in the first half and were taking some quick shots. Against good defensive teams, we need to move the ball around to get better looks at the basket. Sometimes we get in a hurry and take a tough shot instead of making an extra pass or two to get a better open look. We did some good things throughout the game, but the consistency needs to get better."
Brooke Kolstoe led the Minnewaska offense with 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting while deflecting six passes on defense.
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Sydney Dahl reached double figures as well, scoring 12 points.
Minnewaska got to the foul line often on Monday as it shot 28 free throws, while Osakis only had 14.
Carlee Muenzhuber had a team-high 12 points for Osakis, while Kiley Kranz corralled 10 rebounds.
Minnewaska (10-12) plays on Tuesday at Melrose (3-18) at 7:15 p.m., while Osakis (10-12) plays on Thursday at Swanville (11-9) at 7:15 p.m.
Osakis - 26 9 - 35
Minnewaska - 31 30 - 61
OSAKIS TEAM STATS - FG - 13-47; 3-PT - 5-20; FT - 4-14; Rebounds - 31; Assists - 7; Deflections - 14; Steals - 5; Blocks - 1; Turnovers - 20; Fouls - 20;
MINNEWASKA TEAM STATS - FG - 20-47; 3-PT - 5-23; FT - 16-28; Rebounds - 35; Assists - 10; Deflections - 26; Steals - 12; Blocks - 4; Turnovers - 15; Fouls - 16
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OSAKIS PLAYER STATS - Hailey Walker - 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Madeline Anderson - 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Greta Faber - 1 point, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Taylor Dirkes - 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 deflections, 1 steal; Kaelyn Walker - 1 rebound, 2 deflections; Bella Weisser - 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 deflections; Carlee Muenzhuber - 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 deflections; Kiley Kranz - 2 points, 10 rebounds; Dariana Meyer - 1 deflection, 1 steal; Maggie Dirkes - 1 rebound, 1 deflection
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