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Abosi, St. Paul Central back in 3A, Section 4 finals

By Shane Koob, Sport Ngin, 03/04/14, 6:45AM CST

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Minutemen knock off St. Thomas Academy despite 24 points from Ryan Jacobsen


St. Paul Central senior Kalu Abosi is guarded by St. Thomas Academy's Jalen Patterson, right. Photo by Jon Laqua

St. Paul Central's Kalu Abosi couldn't find the words to describe how he felt after the Minutemen's victory in the section 4AAA semifinal game Tuesday night.

He had good reason.

The senior scored nine points in St. Paul Central's 58-55 come-from-behind win over St. Thomas Academy (20-6) to send the Minutemen (19-6) to their second section finals in as many years.

"(I feel) wonderful, wonderful, one word: wonderful," Abosi said. "I just love it."

Abosi has every right to enjoy the moment, according to his coach Scott Howell. After a slow start to the season for the senior center, he's hitting his stride on both ends of the court just at the right time.

"As the season has progressed, he's gotten better, especially defensively," Howell said. "That's been a big huge difference in his game for us. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he kind of controls things down (in the post) for us."

Abosi is listed at 6-foot-4 but uses a solid body to fight for rebounds and contest shots in the paint.

He struggled a bit with 6-5 Cadets forward Ryan Jacobsen (24 points), who went on a stretch in the middle of the game where he seemed to be hitting from just about everywhere on the floor.

Abosi took it in stride and kept playing his game.

"I gotta give him respect, he's a great player," Abosi said. "I just had to keep my head up. I knew he was going to make some. I know it's a long game, and I just had to keep telling myself, 'We're going to have time, finish the game'."

Finish, the Minutemen did.

Sophomore guard Sam Gubbrud nailed a 3-pointer to give the Central a 56-55 lead with 2 minutes, 40 seconds to play, and the Minutemen didn't allow the Cadets to hit another shot.

Abosi feels good about where his team is at, and they'll face the winner of the St. Paul Johnson on Friday night.

"We never gave up on ourselves," Abosi said. "Everybody said we couldn't get here, and here we are."

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