LITTLE FALLS — The Osakis boys basketball team got a win over a Class AAA opponent on the road on Tuesday as the Silverstreaks (13-2, Section 6AA) stymied Little Falls (4-9) in a 57-42 final.
Osakis held the Flyers to their second-lowest scoring night of the season.
“We had a great start, getting up by 20 early in the first half by playing great defense and getting good shots offensively,” Osakis head coach Matt Hoelscher said. “Little Falls made some adjustments and we left guys open in our zone. We took rushed, bad shots on offense. We let them get it back to 9, but guys came out with more energy in the second half and we were able to build the lead back.”
The Silverstreaks have shown some depth this season with a different guy stepping up on different nights. Senior Brady Mages had 21 points and 5 rebounds against the Flyers.
Osakis will need its depth going forward after losing starting sophomore guard Kyle Mages for the rest of the season. Hoelscher said Mages will be shut down from basketball activities for 8 weeks in hopes that he can avoid needing surgery in relation to a knee injury if the knee can fully heal with rest.
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“We had multiple guys make big plays throughout the game to help fill that void,” Hoelscher said. “Isaac (Maddock) had a huge three in the first half when we were not getting much in our offense. Grant (Mages) had some big rebounds and baskets down the stretch. Mekai (Hoelscher) and Drew (Imdieke) gave great minutes and moved the basketball to find open players and they did a nice job defensively. Bauer (Klimek) started slow with some foul trouble but made a big three to start the second half to give us momentum, and Stewart (Jones) was active on the glass and hounded people defensively.”
Senior Carter Watnaas had a team-best 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“Brady and Carter had huge games in the paint whether it was scoring, rebounding, or impacting shots,” Hoelscher said. “Those two do a fantastic job rebounding on both ends of the floor, giving us the advantage against smaller teams. Good win against a big school and now we have some section and conference games coming up that we need to focus on.”
The Silverstreaks host Section 6AA foe Holdingford (2-13) on Thursday night at 7:15.
LITTLE FALLS 23 19 - 42
OSAKIS 32 25 - 57
OSAKIS TOTALS - FG - 23-44; Three-FG - 5-16; FT - 6-11; Assists - 12; Blocks - 3; Rebounds - 31; Steals - 3; Turnovers - 7
OSAKIS - Stewart Jones - 9 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds; Grant Mages - 6 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds; Isaac Maddock - 3 points; Bauer Klimek - 11 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals; Drew Imdieke - 3 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds; Mekai Hoelscher - 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Carter Watnaas - 4 points, 3 blocks, 7 rebounds; Brady Mages - 21 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds
