Alexandria Area routs Apollo in section tournament
After an Alexandria Area made basket with 1:25 left in the first half of St. Cloud Apollo boys basketball’s Section 8-3A first round matchup against the top-seed, the Eagle inbounder tossed a halfhearted lob basically straight to Cardinal defender Grayson Grove, who took two steps to the basket and jammed the ball through the hoop wide open.
Two plays later the 6-foot-9-inch forward dunked it again off a stolen pass.
Turnovers cost Apollo (1-24, 0-15 Central Lakes Conference) heavily in its 89-35 loss to Alexandria Area (22-4, 14-2) Tuesday night. Many came on similar lazy lobs in the half-court offense or passes to nobody that bounced out of bounds without being touched. The Eagles struggled to get into any kind of rhythm, eventually resorting to just trying to get the ball across halfcourt and end a possession with a shot.
“We were going to try to be patient, but that’s not us,” coach Mike Trewick said. “We got to get better offensively and hopefully we will over the summer. I mean, we played two eighth graders today and a bunch of sophomores.”
Alexandria Area’s defense deserves most of the credit for the win. Anchored by Grove, a junior, and 6’7” sophomore Chase Thompson, the team’s length and quick hands meant many passing lanes quickly tightened and it forced Apollo guards to run their offense often from five or more feet beyond the arc — if they got past a strong full-court defense. Steals turned into easy fast break layups, but the Cardinals were just as comfortable cashing a three from deep.
As far away from the basket as the offense ran, the Eagles had a long way to drive or pass the ball into the paint. Apollo swung the ball around the arc okay, as long as it avoided Alexandria Area traps, but on most of the Eagles’ possessions, the Cardinals forced an easily stolen pass inside or drove without a direction. Once under the big Cardinal posts, all too often the drivers jumped underneath the basket, not looking to score, but also not having an open teammate to bail the ball out to.
In the end, just three Apollo players made field goals. Sophomore stretch guard Azayah Washington led his team with 24 points. He’s averaged nearly 40 points per game this season. Senior Koryum Puoch added 7 Wednesday night and junior Jupree Rogers hit a second-half three. Eighth grader Tristan Kowlakowski knocked down a free throw to round out scoring for the Eagles.
“It was tough because half our guys haven’t had varsity experience, so we didn’t have that much chemistry,” Puoch said. “(Alexandra area is) well-played and disciplined. It’s tough luck. (Apollo) will bounce back next year.”
Alexandria Area spread scoring out among 10 players, five with double digits. Grove had 19 points. Senior guard Jaxon Schoenrock had 15 with three made three-pointers and freshman Gavin Roderick ended with 12 points.
With the win, Alexandria Area advances to the semifinals of the tournament to face four-seed Rocori (18-9 9-7) at 7 p.m. at home. The Spartans defeated five-seed Little Falls (14-13) 65-48 in their first-round matchup March 10 and look to avenge two losses from earlier this season.
Apollo, on the other hand, will look to the future. The Eagles are young — listing two eighth graders on the varsity roster and only carrying two seniors.
“Hopefully there isn’t a ceiling next year,” Trewick said. “Hopefully we’ll get better and better, add some people with kids coming up. Just because you're something one year — in high school kids make a big growth so hopefully we make that growth in the summer.”
In the same Section 8-3A tournament, two-seed St. Cloud Tech (16-10 12-4) defeated seven-seed Wilmar (11-16 4-12) 60-44. The Tigers will play 7 p.m. March 10 at home versus six-seed Sauk Rapids-Rice (11-15, 6-9), which upset 3-seed Detroit Lakes (17-9) 70-67.
Seven-seed Sartell (7-20 6-9) fell 57-55 to two-seed Moorhead (19-8) in the Section 8-4A tournament.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Alexandria Area routs Apollo in section tournament
