LITTLE FALLS TOOK ON ST. CLOUD APOLLO IN A BOYS' BASKETBALL REGIONAL SEMIFINAL GAME

The Little Falls Flyers flew to St. Cloud Sate University to take on the St. Cloud Apollo Eagles in a
boys' basketball Section 8 Class AAA semifinal game. St. Cloud came into the game with the number
1 seed in the region and Little Falls came into the game with the 5 seed in the region.
 

St. Cloud Apollo looked to take their time on the offensive end. They also looked for the long deep
three-point shot.
 

Apollo looked to get the ball into the hands of Ibrahim Bashir Abukar. Abukar was all over the court on both sides of the floor. He ran the Apollo offense.
 

Little Falls started out in a zone defense. They wanted to slow down St. Cloud Apollo.
 

Both teams dove on the ground after loose balls.
 

St. Cloud jumped out to a six point lead with 9:30 left in the half. The score was St. Cloud Apollo 16
and Little Falls 10.
 

Little Falls did a lot of substituting in the first half. They would sub all five players in and out at one
time. That gave them time to rest their legs.
 

Little Falls wanted a lot of ball movement on the offensive end. They passed the ball around the three-point line to take as much time off the clock as they could.
 

St. Cloud Apollo used a full court press. Little Falls had a hard time handling the Apollo press. That
would lead to turnovers and St. Cloud Apollo would convert on the turnovers.
 

Little Falls also went to a full court press. That didn't seem to bother St. Cloud Apollo that much as
they were able to blow right by the Little Falls defenders.
 

At halftime the score was St. Cloud Apollo 37 and Little Falls 24.
 

St. Cloud Apollo looked to get the ball into Blake Maslonkowski's hands. Maslonkowski's shot fell for
him in the first half as he was their leading scorer at the half with 12.
 

Abukar did a good job of getting the ball up the court. He knew where his teammates were on the court
and was able to get them into the correct spots on the floor.
 

Little Falls trapped St. Cloud Apollo. Apollo was able to break the trap and take the ball hard to the
basket.
 

The traps that Little Falls was setting forced a few turnovers for St. Cloud Apollo. Little Falls was able to go on a run.
 

Apollo did not take care of the ball for a period of time in the second half. That let Little Falls go on a
run.
 

Both teams dove on the floor after loose balls.
 

Little Falls a called a timeout with 11:40 left with the score St. Cloud Apollo 47 and Little Falls 34.
 

St. Cloud Apollo continued to pressure Little Falls. Little Falls couldn't get their shots to fall in the
middle of the half.
 

St. Cloud Apollo stayed in their zone defense. They were able to trap the ball in the corners.
 

Little Falls called a timeout with 6:29 left in regulation. The score was St. Cloud Apollo 60 and Little
Falls 46.
 

Little Falls didn't give up throughout the game. They kept on fighting until the end. St. Cloud Apollo
was too much for them.
 

Both teams played hard throughout the game.
 

St. Cloud Apollo came away with the 83-56 victory over Little Falls.
 

Little Falls shot 18-56 from the field. That included going 8-23 from behind the three-point line. They
shot 12-14 from the free throw line. Little Falls was led in scoring by Thomas Smith with 11 points,
Matt Valentine, Josh Wenzel and Jake Scott each with 9 points.
 

St. Cloud Apollo was led in scoring by Blake Maslonkowski with 22 points, Derek Steve with 20
points, Ryan Tesch with 18 points and Ibrahim Bashir Abukar with 11 points. St. Cloud Apollo shots
27-45 from the field that included going 6-15 from behind the three-point line. They also were 24-37
from the free throw line.