A win and a loss on the hardwood (VIDEOS)

I haven't caught up with wrestling scores from tonight's quadrangular at Osakis.

In a Central Lakes Conference game tonight, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team defeated the Willmar Cardinals in a 3-0 shutout at the Willmar Civic Center.

In basketball action tonight:
In a Central Minnesota Conference game, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team turned in a marvelous performance in a 77-58 win over Kimball Area in Brooten. The Jaguars led 43-21 at halftime. In the first half, the Jaguars made a few key outside shots while being highly successful at driving to the basket.

Here's a video from the first half of tonight's game:


With 3:55 left in the first half, Hudson Reed's layup gave the Jaguars a 28-16 lead. Reed led the team with a career-best 23 points plus 6 rebounds. As a team, the Jaguars shot 53 percent from the floor while making 8 out of 11 free throw shots.

The boys' basketball team improves to 1-2 in the CMC and 4-6 overall. Next: they host Royalton in a CMC game on Thursday this week. Kimball Area is 2-2 in the CMC and 3-9 overall.

In a non-conference border battle in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team took a 72-61 loss to Minnewaska Area. After falling behind 17-6 to start the game, the Jaguars rallied in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 30-28 lead at the break.

In the opening minute of the second half, Macey Roering's layup made it a 32-28 lead. The Lakers then scored inside twice before connecting three straight times from beyond the arc. With 13:25 left in the game, the Lakers had a 41-32 lead after a 13-0 run.

Here's a video recorded late in the second half tonight:


Minnewaska Area, a contender in the West Central Conference and in Section 3AA, improved to 11-2 overall. B-B-E's five-game winning streak ends tonight, and they are 10-3 overall.

Excellent 81 percent free throw shooting kept them in the game, and they connected on 14 of 17 free throw shots in the second half. Kacey Fischer led the team with 23 points. From the floor, the Jaguars shot 33 percent (19-of-56).

The Jaguars don't have much time to lick their wounds, as they now have a tough road trip to Holdingford this Thursday night in a CMC game.

Knights of Columbus free throw shooting contest is January 25 (VIDEOS)

This is exciting news for area youth basketball players.

The Knights of Columbus will host their annual youth free throw shooting contest on Sunday, January 25 at the Sauk Centre high school multi-purpose room. This features boys and girls divisions for ages 9 to 14. Registration is at 12:30 p.m., and the contest starts at 1 p.m.

Note: entrants can compete in only one local competition.

The Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten hosted the Big Grove-Crow River-Grace Lutheran Parish youth group for an Overtime youth night, which was open to all 7th-12th graders at B-B-E high school.

Here's a video from that night in Brooten:


Tonight: the girls' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area; and the boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area. Game updates will follow much later tonight.

Here's an exterior video view of Lincoln's Seafood and Steakhouse in Brooten:


The view around the building at night is beautiful, and the light snowfall just added to the scenery.

*Halftime: BBE 43, Kimball 21.

Another busy stretch ahead (VIDEOS)

I'm still reviewing wrestling results from the Minnewaska Invitational, which was held this past Friday.

Noah Jensen, a freshman, won the 114-pound title and now has a 23-2 overall record this season.

Here's action from the last few minutes of the first half against Hancock on Tuesday, January 6:


And here's the last couple of minutes of the Paynesville game on Friday:


The school board (at Brooten) and Brooten city council meets tomorrow night. No rest whatsoever in the Bonanza Valley Voice universe! Monday night features no varsity events. On Tuesday, the girls' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area, and the boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area. The girls' hockey team travels to Willmar for a Central Lakes Conference game.

Update...
The Brooten city council meeting agenda will be posted late on Monday afternoon to the Bonanza Valley Voice editor's blog. The direct link to view that is: BrootenCouncilAgenda.

Girls' basketball Jaguars overpower Bulldogs in strong 2nd half (VIDEO)

Saturday, January 10 notice: don't forget that today, Saturday, Marcia's Bar and Grill will host a Glacial Ridge A.B.A.T.E. meat raffle! It will heat up some time after 4 p.m., likely once the bar bingo crowd starts heading south from the Kade Shack


The visiting Paynesville Area Bulldogs proved a formidable opponent in the first half for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. In a home Central Minnesota Conference game tonight, the Jaguars led 22-20 at halftime. Led by a 20-point performance by Kacey Fischer, the Jaguars won 57-37 to improve to 5-0 in the league.

Cold shooting hurt the Jaguars across the game, but 10-of-14 free throw shooting in the second half helped them to rack up 35 points in the last 18 minutes. For the game, the Jaguars were 14-of-20 from the line with 26 percent overall field goal shooting.

The girls' basketball team now prepares for another home border battle, with Minnewaska Area coming to town next Tuesday, January 13.

Here's video from the first half of tonight's game with under 8 minutes left:


Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 9:
Eden Valley-Watkins 53, Holdingford 50
Royalton 67, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 43
Kimball Area 53, Maple Lake 22

I'm in a considerable delay with sports blogging tonight. It's all good - I've been enjoying the evening in downtown Brooten with time split between Lincoln's Steakhouse and Lucky Shots Bowling Alley. The town of Brooten was hopping tonight! We are blessed.

I'm still in the process of catching up on wrestling results from the Minnewaska Invitational.

In boys' basketball action tonight...
In their CMC game at home, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team faced defending champion Holdingford in Brooten. The Huskers built a 43-20 halftime lead on 55 percent field goal shooting. In the second half, the Jaguars played much better defense in a 64-44 loss. Hudson Reed led the Jaguars with 17 points.

The Huskers improve to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the CMC.

The boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area next Tuesday in another CMC game.

And finally...in wrestling news...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team had what is likely the best night of the season so far after they turned in a 4th-place finish out of 11 teams at Minnewaska Area high school tonight. The Jaguars racked up 214.5 team points while out-placing fifth-place Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (201.5 points) and Wabasso (184 points). The host Lakers were champions with 558 points.

In girls' hockey news...
At Hutchinson last night, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team defeated the host Tigers by a 2-1 score. This squares their overall record at 8-8. Next for the Stars is a road game at Willmar in Central Lakes Conference action next Tuesday, January 13.

In college basketball news...
In an incredible collegiate performance for the ages, B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Kaden Pieper scored 45 points to help lead the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars to a 106-91 win at Martin Lutheran College in New Ulm on Wednesday this week. The 45 points is the second-most scored in UMM program history and the most points scored by any men's player in a single game at UMM since the 1964-65 season. Crazy.

Area boys' basketball scores on January 9:
Central MN Christian 101, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 39
Litchfield 67, Eden Valley-Watkins 56
Melrose Area 76, Royalton 62
New London-Spicer 78, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 66
West Central Area 78, Brandon-Evansville 39
Osakis 59, Upsala 58
Benson 71, Hancock 64
MACCRAY 70, Minneota 65
Ortonville 52, Renville County West 52

Halftime update

At halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a 22-20 lead over Paynesville Area. Meanwhile, the boys' basketball team is competing at home against Holdingford. The wrestling team is at Minnewaska Area, and the Pirouettes dance team is in Grove City.

Updates and final scores to follow in a new blog post.

Game updates at Eden Valley

A tough start has the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team in a double-digit hole in the first half at Eden Valley-Watkins. With 11 minutes to go, the Eagles hold an 18-7 lead. Seconds later, they expanded that to 21-7 on a three-pointer.

With 9:15 left, Taylor Pieper scored under the basket.

Update: abysmal, flat-footed interior defense by the Jaguars has contributed to the Eagles forging a 36-21 halftime lead.

With 8:48 left in the game, the Eagles have a 49-34 lead.

With 1:36 left in the game, the Eagles have a 60-48 lead. Final: EV-W 63, B-B-E 50. The Eagles improve to 2-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference and 3-4 overall.

Here's action from the first half of the Hancock game on Tuesday night:


The wrestling team was in Minneota tonight.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 8:
Holdingford 89, Royalton 44
Kimball Area 92, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 63
Paynesville Area 73, Maple Lake 39

Area boys' basketball scores on January 8:
Melrose Area 64, Sauk Centre 49
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 91, BOLD 35
Border West 71, Parkers Prairie 66
Hancock 76, Battle Lake 44
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 66, Ashby 38
Underwood 83, Rothsay 60
Dawson-Boyd 92, Canby 44
Alexandria 94, Fergus Falls 61
Willmar 70, Becker 62
New York Mills 62, Browerville 52
Minnewaska Area 51, West Central Area 40
Montevideo 84, MACCRAY 34

Girls' basketball Jaguars knock down Royalton!

What an incredible road win!

In what was by far the biggest Central Minnesota Conference road win in years, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team upended Royalton tonight 58-53 to stay unbeaten in the league. The Royals fall to 4-6 overall and 3-1 in the CMC. Last season, Royalton went 28-1 with a loss in the Section 6AA championship game to Sauk Centre. In the CMC, they were a perfect 14-0.

The Jaguars fought tooth and nail through a difficult first half and trailed 32-29 at halftime.

Trailing 47-44 with under 7 minutes left, Kacey Fischer earned a three-point play to knot it up at 47-all.

Going inside of 4 minutes left, the Jaguars fell behind 49-47. With 2:30 left, Royalton's bench was hit with a technical foul. Kacey Fischer proceeded to make both technical free throws to force a 49-49 tie.

Incredible, lights-out defense down the stretch limited the Royals to just 4 points the rest of the way. The Jaguars led 58-51 in the final 30 seconds before Royalton's freshman sensation Chloe Reedy connected on 2 free throws with 2.5 seconds left. That was all she wrote.

More to come later. I have a lot of notes to comb through!

Let's back up briefly to earlier this evening with the boys' basketball game against Hancock. The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosted the Owls in a key Section 6A game. Down 30-21 at halftime, the Jaguars played valiantly against a super athletic Hancock team. Cold shooting from the floor and at the line was costly in a double-digit loss by a score of 66-53.

Hancock shot 44 percent from the floor, while the Jaguars made just 29 percent of their field goals. B-B-E was an abysmal 9-for-24 at the free throw line.

Here's the JV Jaguars in action against Hancock...with the game-winning shot featured:


Reid Dickhoff, a 5'10 guard, is the lone junior on the team. He scored with 7.1 seconds left and made a free throw to boot. JV game final score: B-B-E 54, Hancock 51.

I have to attack sports writing. Deadline is screaming at me; the printing press runs at 6 a.m.!

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 6:
Eden Valley-Watkins 56, Maple Lake 21
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 59, Paynesville Area 40
Kimball Area 59, Holdingford 47

GAME NIGHT! Home and away

The girls' basketball team is in Royalton, while the boys' basketball team is hosting Hancock. The JV boys' basketball team defeated the Owls 54-51 after Reid Dickhoff earned a three-point play with 7 seconds to go in regulation. The junior scored on the left block to break a 51-51 tie. The varsity boys' game should tip off at 7 p.m.

Halftime in Royalton: Royals 32, Jaguars 29.

Girls' basketball overpowers Maple Lake in strong second half (VIDEOS)

A 39-point outburst in the second half paved the way for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team to earning a 65-39 win against visiting Maple Lake tonight. The Jaguars launched a total of 89 field goals in the game. Their final shooting percentage was 28. Mya Worms led the charge with 14 points.

B-B-E was coming off of a 9-day layoff, with their last game coming on Saturday, December 27 in Sartell. The rust was a mighty obstacle to overcome in the first half, and the Jaguars missed all 9 three-point attempts in the first 18 minutes.

The sledding gets "100 times" tougher, as the Jaguars now prepare for a road trip to Royalton. There's no time to rest, as this road trip takes place tomorrow. The Royals, defending CMC champions, are 4-5 overall (3-0 CMC).

Here's a video featuring the National Anthem plus starter introductions and the opening tip-off:


The opening minutes of the game brought a mighty struggle as the Jaguars took time to find their shot. Through 5 1/2 minutes of play, the Irish led 9-2, and B-B-E's only points were from Kacey Fischer's field goal at the 15:53 mark.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Coming tomorrow: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosts Hancock in a key Section 6A game. The Owls are 5-2 overall and currently ranked No. 7 in Section 6A. The Jaguars are ranked No. 13. Overall, Section 6A includes 23 teams.

I've been slowly getting this winter sports photo album caught up: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Winter-Sports-25-26.

GAME NIGHT! The Irish are in town

A JV and varsity night is underway on the home floor for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, who is facing Maple Lake. The JV Jaguars held a 26-15 lead at halftime and ended up winning in a blowout. I didn't write down the final score. It was by at least 30 points.

The varsity Irish team holds a 1-6 overall record; they are 0-2 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Maple Lake's lone win was by a 48-46 score in Maple Lake on December 5 against St. John's Prep.

The varsity game should get going at 7:10 p.m.

Update: with 8:23 left in the first half, the Jaguars took their first lead of the game with Kamie Fischer scoring in the paint. This gave B-B-E a 12-11 lead.

Halftime: B-B-E 26, Maple Lake 16. The Jaguars had a nice flurry of action in the last 2 minutes to expand a 20-15 lead to the 10-point halftime margin.

Live music begins at Lincoln's Seafood and Steakhouse (VIDEOS*)

Lincoln's in Brooten featured their first live music performance since the bar and restaurant re-opened for the first time since 2017.

On Saturday, December 27, the Tanner Stark Band performed at the Main Theater stage at Lincoln's. Although the foggy weather made for poor travel conditions, those who were fortunate enough to attend the concert had a great time.

Here's a link you can click through to watch a video of the Tanner Stark Band performing that night in Brooten: TannerStarkBandLincolns.

Coming tonight: the Belgrade VFW hosts a pork chop and steak fry. They serve from 5 to 7:30 p.m., and the event also features a meat raffle. I hope to see you there!

And now it's Sunday after church...
Last night, during and after I attended the VFW pork chop/steak fry in Belgrade, I watched the Valley City State University women's basketball team in a home game against the University of Providence of Montana. B-B-E's Tiyana Schwinghammer, a junior, is a current VCSU starter. In what was a low-scoring game through the middle of the third quarter, the Vikings battled back from down 16 points in the first half. They trailed 35-27 at halftime. With just over 3 minutes left in the third quarter, a steal and breakaway layup by Schwinghammer forced the game's first tie at 36-36. The Vikings ultimately lost 67-65. With 8 seconds to go, Schwinghammer knocked down a downtown three-pointer under pressure to force a 65-65 tie. The Argos then scored at the buzzer on a point-blank shot under the basket to erase a possible overtime session. The Providence player released her shot inside the right block with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

Here's the Trinity Lutheran choir in Brooten performing this morning at worship:


The last portion of Christmas-related coverage for 2025 will be published in the January 8 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.