Boys basketball: Eagles win at the line to stop Cards

WILLMAR — The Willmar Cardinals fell to 0-2 in the young season with their second close loss.
The St. Cloud Apollo Eagles pulled away from Cards at the free throw line to win 61-57 in the Central Lakes opener for both teams.
The Cardinals, who lost 57-54 at Hutchinson, faltered at the free-throw line where just 12 of 25 fell through.
Meantime, the Eagles drained 16 of 20 on the foreign hardwood, including 8 of 10 at crunch time.
The game featured over a half-dozen lead changes. The St. Cloud school led 25-24 at half.
Senior forward and third-year starter Brett Maslonkowski scored 24 points for the Eagles.
Luke Stangler got all four of his points at the line in the last two minutes.
Alex Grove and Austin Rambow each scored 15 for the Cardinals. Rambow, who also nailed 12 rebounds, drew double coverage whenever the 6-5 forward got the ball down low.
“We’ve got to find more offense,” commented head coach Steve Grove.
SC Apollo 61, Willmar 57
SC Apollo (1-0, 3-1) 25 36 — 61
Willmar (0-1, 0-2) 24 33 — 57
ST. CLOUD APOLLO – 20-44 FG (5-16 3-pt); 16-20 FT; 19 rebounds; 22 fouls … Scoring: Isaac Rakke 9, Noel Teigen 3, Ethan Carlson 2, Grant Trokey 4, Luke Stangler 45, Brett Maslowkowski 25, Ethan Novacinsky 2, Trevor Tesch 10, Michael Ashwill 3 … 3-point shots: Rakke 2, Teigen 1, Tesch 1, Ashwill 1
WILLMAR – 20-48 FG (5-18 3-pt); 12-25 FT; 28 rebounds; 21 fouls … Scoring: Doug Leuze 9, Joel Carter 0, Jordan Geurtz 3, Sean Zuidema 4, Tyler Stegeman 3, Cody Magnuson 3, Kyler Johnson 5, Austin Rambow 15, Alex Grove 15 … 3-point shots: Leuze, Magnuson 1, Johnson 1, Rambow 1, Grove 1… Rebound leaders: Rambow 12, Zuidema 4 … Assist leaders: Rambow 2 … Steal leaders: Stegeman 3, Leuze 2