Jaguars Basketball -- Competitive First Half Leads to Big Letdown in Second Half at Howard Lake, 67-52 Loss

In what will probably be their final trip ever to Hubert H. Humphrey Hall at the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School, the Jaguars basketball team fell to the Lakers (2-5 CMC, 6-9) in conference action 67-52. They played a solid first half in which they trailed only 34-28 at halftime, playing within one or two possessions most of that period. Giving up three unanswered buckets to start the second half did not help their case, however, and they never recovered.

During the first week of January 2008 the Lakers varsity athletic program is slated to move into its new high school complex built just a few miles south of Howard Lake. It will have one gymnasium for all regular season Varsity volleyball and basketball, with seating for about 800, similar to the B-B-E High School. They will continue to host tournaments in Howard Lake at Humphrey Hall, which will be a part of the 5-8 grade Middle School complex. It will also host C-squad and Junior High basketball for boys and girls teams.

It is possible, if the Jaguars stay in Class AA for the 2008-2010 seasons, that they would travel to Humphrey Hall in Howard Lake for basketball playoffs.

In other action around the CMC tonight...Rockford stays atop the CMC with a 6-0 conference record.
@ Maple Lake 56 (4-3 CMC, 10-8), Holdingford 54 (3-4 CMC, 11-6)
**Big win for the Irish
@ Kimball 59 (1-6 CMC, 3-10), Pierz 73 (6-1 CMC, 13-2)
@ Rockford 83 (6-0 CMC, 13-4), Eden Valley-Watkins 74 (5-2 CMC, 9-4)

Games tonight involving CMC girls basketball teams:
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 62 (14-3), Rocori 39 (2-17)
**The Eagles are on a nine-game winning streak
@ Mora 43 (12-6), Pierz 47 (12-6)

Up next for the Jaguars basketball is a trip to Holdingford on Friday night, followed by a Saturday evening game against Rockford at the B-B-E High School. In that game, the B-squad and C-squad teams will play at 4:30, with the Varsity to follow at around 6:00.
Also on Saturday is a 5th and 6th grade boys basketball tournament, hosted at both the elementary and high school gymnasiums. The tournament will begin at 9:00am. More information on this will be posted on Thursday.
The Lady Jaguars basketball travels to Maple Lake on Thursday (Feb 1) in a key CMC matchup between Sub-Section 5AA-20 teams both battling for a high playoff seed and the first-round home playoff game that comes with it.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by the following B-B-E area businesses:

Jaguars Wrestling Action Cancelled for This Week

All High School wrestling events have been cancelled for eight days in Minnesota. For our Jaguars, that begins with their trip to the Melrose Triangular and ends with their home triangular next Tuesday. The Jaguars wrestling team's next scheduled event is Friday, February 9, when they host a big Quadrangular at the high school. It is unclear as of now whether or not the cancelled events will be rescheduled.

Further details can be found at the Minnesota State High School League's website:
http://www.mshsl.org.

An excellent story on this is running in the Wednesday issue of the West Central Tribune (Willmar) and can be found during the day on Wednesday at the following link:

http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=15818§ion=Sports

Rightly stated, this outbreak is not a wrestling-only issue, and the ban on competition for this eight-day period illustrates that our schools and administrators have put the health and safety of our student athletes in front of anything else, which is the right thing to do.

Jaguars Basketball -- Unable to Overcome Big First Half Deficit, Solid Second Half Play in 51-36 Loss to Osakis

Tonight the Jaguars basketball team traveled to Osakis in non-conference action to face the 11-3 Silverstreaks, who finished in third place in Class A last season. As they have in numerous games this season, they came out strong in the opening minutes, holding the Silverstreaks scoreless for nearly three minutes. Then the floodgates opened up, as Osakis launched a barrage of successful three-pointers to score 26 points in eight minutes of play, leading 26-6 with 7:20 before halftime. They drained a total of six treys by halftime.

The Jaguars managed to recover, and slow the Osakis offense, ending the first half on a 7-3 run of their own. In the second half, the Jaguars played considerably better and managed to cut the Osakis lead down to 11 points on two occasions, before the Silverstreaks pulled away at the end.

The Jaguars now travel to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted tomorrow night (Jan 30) to face a Lakers team that is also hurting for wins, as they are 5-9 overall and 1-5 in the CMC. If the Jaguars manage to sweep the Lakers, which is entirely possible, it will lift them out of eighth place in the Sub-Section 5AA-20 standings.

Other boys basketball games tonight involving CMC teams:
@ Holdingford (11-5) 50, Swanville (13-4) 52
**Tough loss for the Huskers on their home court

Games involving girls basketball CMC teams:
@Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (15-4) 58, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 50 (10-7)

The Jaguars wrestling team also is on the road tomorrow, at the Melrose Triangular that also includes Princeton.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Lady Jaguars Basketball -- Complete Season Sweep Over Holdingford in CMC Play, 63-54 Win -- Lady Jaguars Danceline Performs at Halftime

In their second matchup with the Holdingford Huskers, the Lady Jaguars started out on fire, building a 23-3 lead before falling ice cold from the field and falling prey to the Huskers' tenacious paint defense that forced numerous turnovers. The Lady Jaguars managed to go into halftime ahead 31-26, and never trailed in the second half even though the Huskers tied the game once at 50-all late in the game.

With the win, the Lady Jaguars even their CMC and overall records at 4-4 and 7-7. Combined with a small upset of Pierz by Rockford 57-45 tonight, the Lady Jaguars pull into a tie for fourth place in the CMC with Pierz. Rockford sits in third alone at 5-3. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted maintains a tie with Eden Valley-Watkins for first place with their low-scoring 43-36 win over sixth-place Maple Lake tonight. The Lady Jaguars' win also completes a series sweep over the Huskers for the first time since 1999-2000, their inaugural season in the Central Minnesota Conference. Holdingford falls to 2-6 in the CMC and 4-12 overall.

The C-squad Lady Jaguars won a sudden-death overtime thriller, with Miranda Bast's pullup jumper from 10 feet out winning the game 33-31. Meanwhile, the B-squad Lady Jaguars won 50-37, also capping a series sweep over the Huskers.

At halftime of the Varsity game, the Lady Jaguars Danceline High Kick squad performed a great routine for the crowd. More photos of the basketball game and the danceline performance will be posted tomorrow morning to the Jaguars Sports Photo Website: http://bbejaguarsphotos.blogspot.com.

Around the CMC in girls basketball action tonight:
@ Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1 CMC, 12-3) 78, Kimball (0-8 CMC, 2-13) 33
@ Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 43 (7-1 CMC, 13-4), Maple Lake 36 (3-5 CMC, 9-8)
@ Rockford 57 (5-3 CMC, 9-7), Pierz 45 (4-4 CMC, 11-6)

A matchup between Sub-Section 5AA-20 teams:
@ Paynesville Area 43 (1-14), New London-Spicer 57 (14-4)

Updated Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball standings:
Eden Valley-Watkins (7-1)
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (7-1)
Rockford (5-3)
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (4-4)
Pierz (4-4)
Maple Lake (3-5)
Holdingford (2-6)
Kimball (0-8)

**WEEKEND results from basketball games involving CMC teams:

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Maple Lake (9-9) @ Annandale (7-10) 51-29 LOSS
StCloud Cathedral (8-12) @ Eden Valley-Watkins (12-3) 87-61 WIN
--four-game losing streak for SCC
HLWW (14-4) @ Dassel-Cokato (1-16) 49-33 WIN

BOYS BASKETBALL:
Maple Lake (9-8) @ Annandale (12-3) 66-51 LOSS
StCloud Cathedral (5-12) @ EV-W (9-3) 63-49 WIN
--- but SCC just knocked off Sauk Centre 54-51 on Thursday night

This Jaguars Sports update brought to you by:

Jaguars Basketball: Close Loss at Maple Lake in CMC Play, 56-48 -- Jaguars Wrestling Falls 32-24 to Osakis

Tonight the Jaguars basketball team traveled to Maple Lake to face the Irish in Central Minnesota Conference action, their only game of the week. The Irish had been playing excellent ball of late, and were 8-7 going into the game with a big win over Sub-Section 5AA-20 opponent Paynesville Area (9-4) on Tuesday night.

Down by about 15 points in the second half, the Jaguars started a rally. With 90 seconds left, they got the game down to a three-point deficit, and with possession of the ball. They threw it away, though, and Maple Lake pulled away at the very end with free throws and a fast break bucket to win 56-48. It was the second conference win of the season for the Irish (3-3 CMC, 9-7).

The upside for the varsity Blue & Silver was seeing 10 guys find the scoring column.
The Jaguars basketball B-squad team won by 8 points; the C-squad lost by 2 points.

Next week the Jaguars take to the road again for two very tough games at Osakis (10-3) on Monday night and at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (4-9) on Tuesday (Jan 30). The Jaguars' game on Monday night will be broadcast on Glenwood's Magic 107.1 FM, with pre-game beginning at about 7:30.

Around the CMC in boys basketball action tonight:
@ Holdingford 48 (3-3 CMC, 11-4), Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 46 (1-5 CMC, 4-9)
@ Kimball 62 (1-5 CMC, 3-9), Rockford 84 (5-0 CMC, 12-3)
**Big news outta Pierz...Pioneers knock Eagles from first place...
@ Pierz 66 (5-1 CMC, 12-2), Eden Valley-Watkins 53 (5-1 CMC, 8-3)
...leaving Rockford as the only Central Minnesota Conference team undefeated in the league. Pierz and Rockford are the defending CMC Co-champions, both going 12-2 in conference play last season.

The Jaguars wrestling team dropped a close dual meet on the road at Osakis 32-24. They won the first five matches, building a 15-0 lead in the process. They won only two of the final weights, however, picking up a 4-2 decision at 145 and a forfeit in the heavyweight division. Their next action is Tuesday (Jan 30) at the Melrose Triangular. The host Dutchmen and the Jaguars will be joined by Princeton.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Lady Jaguars Basketball - Shelled by First-Place Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 76-54

Tonight on their homecourt, the Lady Jaguars basketball team overcame another slow start, falling behind 30-15 at one point in the first half, to recover and get within two points as halftime approached. After coming out of halftime with a 42-36 deficit, the Lady Jaguars fell apart in the second half and were throttled by one of the two first-place teams in the conference, the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers (6-1 CMC, 12-4 overall). Both squads combined for an unheard-of 167 shots from the field. The Lady Jaguars went 17 of 97, however, for a season-low 17.5% shooting percentage. They will pick it up for their game this Friday, another home CMC game, against Holdingford. It will begin their second trip through the rugged Central Minnesota Conference schedule.

Around the CMC tonight in girls basketball action:
@ Pierz 60 (4-3 CMC, 11-5), Kimball 36 (0-7 CMC, 2-12)
@ Holdingford 56 (2-5 CMC, 4-11), Maple Lake 63 (3-4 CMC, 9-7)
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 79 (6-1 CMC, 11-3), Rockford 53 (4-3 CMC, 8-7)

Updated CMC girls basketball standings:
Eden Valley-Watkins (6-1)
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (6-1)
Pierz (4-3)
Rockford (4-3)
B-B-E (3-4)
Maple Lake (3-4)
Holdingford (2-5)
Kimball (0-7)

Games involving CMC boys basketball teams:
@ Maple Lake 77 (8-7), Paynesville Area 71 (9-4)
**A costly game for the Bulldogs, as this will hurt them at Sub-Section 5AA-20 seeding time
@ Kimball 51 (3-8), St.John's Prep 33 (6-8)
@ Rockford 83 (11-3), Jordan 55 (6-7)
**A big win for the Rockets over a fellow Sub-Section 4AA-West team

This Jaguars Sports update brought to you by:

Lady Jaguars Basketball Picks Up 55-53 Win Over 12-2 Osakis Silversteaks Team

The Lady Jaguars started their week off the right way, with a come-from-behind win over the 12-2 Osakis Silverstreaks on the homecourt at the elementary school. After falling behind 23-18 in the final three minutes of the first half, the Lady Jaguars went on a scoring rampage before halftime with a 10-0 run that gave them a lead they would not give up the rest of the game. The final margin was the closest the Silverstreaks would get after the Lady Jaguars built as much as a 12-point lead in the second half.

The week won't get any easier, as the Lady Jaguars prepare to host first-place Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (5-1 CMC) tomorrow night in Central Minnesota Conference action. The stakes are high, as they hope to continue their winning ways and build on their 5-2 record since mid-December. They are 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the CMC (tied for 4th with Pierz).

Boys Basketball games tonight involving CMC teams:
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 47 (8-2), Melrose 57 (11-2)
*A game between teams leading the Central Minnesota Conference (EV-W) and the West Central North Conference (Melrose)
@ Pierz 73 (11-2), Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 56 (2-11)

This Jaguars Sports update brought to you by:

Jaguar Wrestlers Place Five Matmen in the Final Four at NL-S Tournament -- Jaguar Basketball Endures Dismal Second Half Against Pierz, 63-46 Loss

With Home-and-Away Varsity action only 15 miles apart, the Jaguars basketball team hosted Pierz tonight while the Jaguar wrestlers battled at the New London-Spicer Tournament. The basketball team recovered from a poor start in the first half to get within four points, down 35-31, to the Pioneers, who are one game out of first place in the Central Minnesota Conference. They went as cold as ever during the second half, though, scoring only 15 additional points in the 63-46 loss to the Pioneers, who sit alone in second place in the conference standings (4-1 CMC, 10-2).

Meanwhile, down the road a short trip at the New London-Spicer High School, the Jaguar wrestlers had a fine outing against very tough Class A and Class AA opposition. Led by Austin Kampsen and Travis Winter's second-place finishes at 140 and 125, respectively, the Jaguars placed five in the Final Four, and seven in the top six spots overall.

Next week for the Jaguars...the boys basketball team has only one game, a road trip Thursday down to Maple Lake for a conference clash with the Irish (2-3 CMC, 7-7), who hung on tonight for an overtime victory over Kimball. They travel to Osakis for non-conference action on Monday, January 29.

The Jaguar wrestlers have only one event next week, a dual meet at Osakis on Thursday (Jan 25). The Silverstreaks were 8-2 in duals as of January 10.

The Lady Jaguars basketball team has a busy week, with three home games beginning on Monday when they host Osakis (9-2). Tuesday night they host first-place Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in CMC action, followed by a Friday night game hosting Holdingford.

Tonight around the Central Minnesota Conference, in boys basketball action it was a wild night as the CMC produced two overtime games, with two games where both undefeated teams in the CMC won by only two and seven points. Holdingford (2-3 CMC) lost a second CMC game by a two-point margin to first-place Rockford tonight, 63-61 in overtime. The Rockets outscored the Huskers 10-8 in the overtime frame. The Huskers were snakebitten in December at Pierz 53-51.

@ Holdingford 61 (2-3 CMC, 10-4), Rockford 63 (4-0 CMC, 10-3) OT
@ Maple Lake 72 (2-3 CMC, 7-7), Kimball 66 (1-4 CMC, 2-8) OT
@ Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 49 (1-4 CMC, 4-8), Eden Valley-Watkins 56 (5-0 CMC, 8-1)

Updated Boys Basketball Central Minnesota Conference Standings:
Eden Valley-Watkins (5-0)
Rockford (4-0)
Pierz (4-1)
Holdingford (2-3)
Maple Lake (2-3)
HL-W-W (1-4)
Kimball (1-4)
B-B-E (0-4)

Games involving CMC girls basketball teams:
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 73 (10-3), Paynesville 54 (1-12)
@ Pierz 41 (10-5), Albany 43 (13-1)!!!!
@ Princeton 65 (8-7), Holdingford 41 (4-10)

In back-to-back nights, Pierz has lost two games by a combined five points. Tonight's loss was as heartbreaking as the previous nights' loss, when they blew a 47-32 lead to Eden Valley-Watkins on the Eagles' floor, losing 61-58. The Pioneers had led for 35 1/2 minutes (out of 36 minutes) of the game! Tonight they hosted number-three ranked (Class AA) Albany and gave the Huskies a big scare, though coming up short in a 43-41 loss between the top teams in each sub-section of Section 6AA. The game speaks volumes about the toughness of the Central Minnesota Conference.

A quick update about Sub-Section 5AA-20 girls basketball standings... Last night New London-Spicer was dealt a tough one-point loss at St.Cloud Cathedral in West Central-North Conference action. The Wildcats were sitting in third-place in the sub-section standings at 11-3 prior to the loss to the 8-8 Crusaders. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted and Eden Valley-Watkins are currently duking it out for the top seed, although playoffs are far-away on the calendar right now. Our Lady Jaguars are 5-6 overall, sitting in sixth-place in the sub-section standings, although they made one positive step towards moving up by defeating Maple Lake last night. Maple Lake and St.Cloud Cathedral sit in the four and five spots in the sub-section.
If New London-Spicer happened to drop two or three more games, and they most likely will lose to Albany when they face the Huskies a second time, the Wildcats could be facing the possibility they will not get a high seed come playoff time. That has not happened since the mid-1970's! In fact, when the Wildcats went 1-1 in the playoffs in March 2006, it marked the first time since 1982 that they had not advanced three games into district/sub-section play. It is entirely possible that the Lady Jaguars could lose only one or two more games, possibly during tough Central Minnesota Conference play including second meetings with Rockford, Eden Valley-Watkins, Pierz, and Maple Lake. However, they have the depth and talent and scoring punch needed to win the necessary games to earn a top-four seed for the playoffs. If New London-Spicer defeats Sauk Centre in their second meeting with the Mainstreeters, it could be used as a tie-breaker with the Lady Jaguars come seeding time, as the Mainstreeters defeated the Lady Jaguars in the season opener. Needless to say, nothing is for certain at this point, and in the Central Minnesota Conference, any team can win on any given night (except games including last-place Kimball). Let's all hope for more NL-S losses to come down the pipeline. If the Lady Jaguars lose only one or two more games, they would have a strong case come seeding time for a three or four playoff seed in Sub-Section 5AA-20. They must see the opportunity to make a statement during this season and the March playoffs and make the most of it by playing with a sense of urgency the rest of the season.

This Jaguars Sports update brought to you by:

Lady Jaguars Basketball Picks up Big CMC Win, 66-56 Over Maple Lake -- Jaguars Wrestling Lose 34-33 Dual to Kimball

Tonight the Lady Jaguars basketball team hosted the Maple Lake Irish for their fourth conference game of the season. Both teams entered the game tied at 2-3 in the CMC, and are currently fighting for a top-four seed in Sub-Section 5AA-20. They stepped up their game considerably compared to the previous week and came away with a hard-fought 66-56 win, lifting them to 3-3 in the CMC (tied for 4th with Pierz) and 5-6 overall.

After playing catch-up the entire first half, the Lady Jaguars came on strong after going 10-deep on the roster and exploding for a 10-0 run to take control of the second half. Their 66-56 varsity win came on the heels of a 45-27 C-squad win and a 42-35 B-squad win for the Lady Jaguars.

They now enter the tougher part to their schedule, beginning next week when they host three teams on Monday/Tuesday/Friday. Monday Osakis (10-2) comes to town, followed the next day by Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (5-1 CMC, 11-4) visiting the elementary school. Next Friday (Jan 26) the Lady Jaguars begin their second trip through the conference schedule when they host the Holdingford Huskers (2-4 CMC, 4-9).

From around the CMC in girls basketball action tonight...Eden Valley-Watkins barely gets past Pierz to remain in 1st place in the CMC, tied with Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, who crushed Holdingford.
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 61 (5-1 CMC, 9-3), Pierz 58 (3-3 CMC, 10-4)
@ Rockford 73 (4-2 CMC, 8-5), Kimball 50 (0-6 CMC, 2-11)
@ HL-W-W 67 (5-1 CMC, 11-4), Holdingford 34 (2-4 CMC, 4-9)

Current CMC Girls Basketball Standings:
EV-W (5-1)
HL-W-W (5-1)
Rockford (4-2)
B-B-E (3-3)
Pierz (3-3)
Holdingford (2-4)
Maple Lake (2-4)
Kimball (0-6)

Results from non-conference games involving CMC boys basketball teams:
@ Maple Lake 58 (6-7), Zimmerman (11-4, 1st place in the Rum River Conference) 54

The Jaguars wrestling team tasted a bitter defeat in dual meet action tonight at Kimball in a matchup between CMC and Section 5A teams. They fell 34-33. They have to put it behind them and get ready for a big day at the New London-Spicer Tournament tomorrow (Friday, Jan 19) starting at 3:30.

This Jaguars Sports update brought to you by:

Jaguars Basketball - Tough Time at Eden Valley-Watkins, Season-Low Offensive Output

Tonight at always-tough Eden Valley-Watkins, the Jaguars basketball team lost 57-26 to the first-place Eagles (4-0 CMC, 7-1 overall).

They host the other first-place team in the Central Minnesota Conference, Pierz, this Friday at the B-B-E high school. The Pioneers are 2-1 in the CMC and 8-2 overall, with a 96-88 loss to Rockford as their one loss in the CMC.

Other boys basketball CMC results:
@ Kimball 40 (1-3 CMC, 2-7), Holdingford 59 (2-2 CMC, 10-3)
@ Rockford 97 (3-0 CMC, 9-3), Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 65 (1-3 CMC, 4-7)
@ Pierz 66 (3-1 CMC, 9-2), Maple Lake 56 (1-3 CMC, 5-7)

CMC girls basketball teams in Non-Conference action:
@ Maple Lake 52 (8-6), Holy Family Catholic 66 (10-4)
@ Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 46 (10-4), Mayer Lutheran 45 (7-6)

The Lady Jaguars basketball team hosts Maple Lake (2-3 CMC, 8-5 overall) this Thursday at the elementary school. The Jaguars wrestling team travels to Kimball for a 5:00pm CMC dual on Thursday night and then to the New London-Spicer
Tournament on Friday at 3:30. The Lady Jaguars Danceline squads will compete in their final meet of the season this Saturday at Pierz.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by the following B-B-E area businesses.

Jaguar Wrestlers Put Five in Finals Round at Paynesville Tournament -- Lady Jaguar Danceline Has Exceptional Performances at NL-S Dance Team Invite

It was a busy day for the Jaguar Wrestlers and the Lady Jaguars Danceline squads. The matmen battled at the Paynesville Area Tournament, which included three state-ranked teams. Five of the eight teams were from Class AA or AAA schools. The Lady Jaguars Danceline squads (Jazz Funk and High Kick) put in an exceptional performance at a 22-team Dance Team Invite at the New London-Spicer High School.

More updates from both competitions will be posted this weekend.

Also, more photos of the Lady Jaguars Danceline High Kick squad are posted on my Jaguars Sports Photos page: http://bbejaguarsphotos.blogspot.com.

This post brought to you by the following B-B-E area businesses who appreciate your support!

Lady Jaguars Basketball - Tough Play During 60-45 Loss at Pierz, Jaguars Wrestling: Two Losses at LQPV Triangular

The Lady Jaguars fell below .500 in the Central Minnesota Conference tonight during a 60-45 loss at Pierz. They played a solid first half after falling behind 16-9 in the first 10 minutes, forcing a tie at 22-22 before going into halftime down 25-23. Pierz senior forward Katie Sczublewski, who entered the game with a 7% record from behind the arc (2-of-28), came on fire tonight in the first half by hitting three of four treys to spark the Pioneers' offense.

The Lady Jaguars now have four straight home games, starting next Thursday (Jan 18) when they host Maple Lake in a CMC tilt. That is their only game next week. Maple Lake is tied with the Lady Jaguars for 5th place (2-3) in the CMC, and this game is a must-win for either team to have any hope of earning a conference championship.

Around the CMC, big news...Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted traveled to Eden Valley-Watkins tonight trying to stay undefeated in the conference and were handed their first CMC loss, 47-38, to the two-time defending champion Eagles.

At Rockford, the Rockets hosted Holdingford and beat the Huskers 62-47.

At Kimball, the Cubs hosted Maple Lake and were beaten by the Irish 80-44.

Current Girls CMC Standings:

EV-W 4-1
HL-W-W 4-1
Pierz 3-2
Rockford 3-2
B-B-E 2-3
Holdingford 2-3
Maple Lake 2-3
Kimball 0-5


Meanwhile, the Jaguar Wrestling squad took it on the chin tonight at the Lac qui Parle Valley Triangular. Against the host Eagles they fell 32-28, and then against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg they were beaten 62-12.

Tomorrow morning they make the short trip down Highway 55 to the Paynesville Area High School for an eight-team tournament, starting at 10:00am.

The Lady Jaguars Danceline will be at the New London-Spicer Dance Team Invitational tomorrow (Saturday, Jan 13).

Their schedule is as follows:

Jazz Funk dances at 12:00 (1st to dance)
High Kick starts at 2:30 ( 25th to dance)
Final awards at 5:20.

Your attendance and support is appreciated by the team!

This post brought to you by:

Jaguar Basketball - 63-44 Loss to Powerful Holdingford Five, Lady Jaguar Danceline Performs for Halftime at the B-B-E High School

Tonight at the B-B-E High School, a large crowd watched a strong, tall Holdingford squad jump ahead 10-0 against our Jaguar basketball team, building a 35-16 halftime lead. The Jaguars picked up their game considerably in the second half, getting the margin down to 11 points in the final minutes and giving their fans an exciting game to cheer for. The Huskers improved to 9-3 overall while gaining their first CMC win of the season after dropping two games to Pierz and Eden Valley-Watkins by a combined seven points.

Fans also were able to see, for the first time ever, the Lady Jaguars Jazz Funk Danceline perform at halftime. The danceline squads are gearing up for the fourth meet of their season, this Saturday at the New London-Spicer High School. They gave an excellent performance for fans to enjoy.

The Jaguars have clearly improved their game over their rough performances of last week, and will have to step things up even more as they travel to Eden Valley-Watkins next Tuesday (Jan 16) for their third Central Minnesota Conference game of the season.

Around the Central Minnesota Conference (boys basketball):
@ Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 52 (1-2 CMC, 4-6), Maple Lake 61 (1-2 CMC, 5-6)
@ Eden Valley-Watkins 59 (3-0 CMC, 6-1), Kimball 43 (1-2 CMC, 2-6)
@ Rockford 96 (2-0 CMC, 8-3), Pierz 88 (2-1 CMC, 8-2)
*Monday, January 8, @ Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 75, Kimball 54
*Tuesday, January 9, @ Rockford 66, Zimmerman 75 (9-3)

The Lady Jaguars Danceline squad will perform at the NL-S Dance Team Invitational this Saturday starting at 11:00am. Area teams include New London-Spicer, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Montevideo and Willmar. Doors will open at 11 a.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students. Ages 5-and-under are free.

The Lady Jaguars basketball team will travel to Pierz Friday night, with their game being broadcast on 107.1 FM in Glenwood. (See details in the right column)

The Jaguars wrestling team will have a busy Friday/Saturday run, with a trip to Lac qui Parle Valley, within 15 minutes of the South Dakota border, for a Triangular on Friday night. They follow that the next morning (Sat Jan 13) with a visit to the Paynesville Area High School for a tournament starting at 10:00am.

This post brought to you by these local B-B-E businesses:

Lady Jaguars Basketball - 56-44 Loss to Eden Valley-Watkins, Closest Game to the Eagles since the 1990s

The Lady Jaguars basketball team hosted the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles tonight in a game between two second-place teams in the Central Minnesota Conference. As predicted it was a competitive and exciting game, even though the Eagles picked up their 15th straight CMC win over the Lady Jaguars since B-B-E joined that conference in 1999.

For the first 10 minutes in the first half, a tight game was on hand as the big crowd at the elementary school gymnasium saw a slugfest between two good conference opponents. Ties of 2-2, 9-9, and 11-11 were on the scoreboard in the first six minutes before the Eagles' offense began clicking and they tightened up their defensive intensity to a level the Lady Jaguars had not seen until tonight.

At halftime the score was 35-15, Eagles ahead.

In the second half, the Lady Jaguars played excellent defense while improving their rough-looking passing game from the first half. They outscored the Eagles 29-21 to bring the game's final margin.

Up next for the Lady Jaguars is a trip to Pierz this Friday, where they will face a solid Pioneers team that is also battling for first place in the CMC.

Around the CMC:
-Tonight at Howard Lake, the HL-W-W Lakers defeated Rockford 58-51 to up their conference record to 4-0 (9-3 overall). Rockford fell to .500 overall (5-5) and in the conference (2-2).
-At Holdingford, the Huskers (4-7, 2-2 CMC) hosted Kimball (2-9, 0-4 CMC) and beat the Cubs 43-19.
-At Maple Lake, the Irish (1-3 CMC, 7-5 overall) hosted Pierz and beat the Pioneers (2-2 CMC, 9-3 overall) 55-47 for their first CMC win of the season.

Tonight before the B-B-E/EV-W game, Eagles' head coach Tom Jansen was quoted as saying that the Central Minnesota Conference is as balanced as he has seen in his 10 years as coach at Eden Valley, in terms of seven of the eight conference teams. Tonight's results are indicative of just that.

More updates to follow.

This post brought to you by the following B-B-E area businesses.

Basketball Double-Header at Swanville - Lady Jaguars Set New B-B-E Girls Team Scoring Record at 91 Points

Saturday afternoon at the Swanville High School, the Lady Jaguars basketball team faced a struggling 0-10 Bulldogs team and raced out to a 48-10 halftime lead. In the second half, even while employing the most liberal of subbing rotations, with B-squad members running the final six minutes, the Lady Jaguars hit a B-B-E girls record 91 points, the final two points on freshmen center Rachel Anderson's free throws.

In the second game against a 7-2 Bulldogs team, the Jaguars basketball team had a considerably tougher outing, falling by a 66-50 score. They played much better than their dismal night before at Kimball and will need to keep improving as a brutal schedule picks up beginning next week.

In other games involving Central Minnesota Conference teams:
Boys Basketball:
Watertown-Mayer 66, @ Eden Valley-Watkins 56 (EV-W is 5-1, W-M is 8-1)
Pierz (7-1) 73, @ Foley (9-2) 71

Girls Basketball:
Pierz (9-2) 50, @ Foley (2-9) 38

The Lady Jaguars host Eden Valley-Watkins on Tuesday at the elementary school in the biggest conference game on their schedule. They sit in a tie with the Eagles at 2-1 for second place in the CMC. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted is currently alone at the top with a 3-0 CMC record. Pierz and Rockford are the two other CMC teams with a 2-1 conference record. Holdingford is 1-2, and Kimball and Maple Lake are both 0-3 in the CMC. Maple Lake narrowly lost to HL-W-W last week 53-46, showing the incredible parity in the league unlike any season in recent memory.

Schedule for other B-B-E Varsity teams:
-The Jaguars basketball team hosts Holdingford this Thursday (Jan 11) before traveling to Eden Valley-Watkins next Tuesday (Jan 16).
-The Jaguars wrestling team travels to Lac qui Parle Valley for a triangular this Friday (Jan 12) with a 5:00 start time. The following morning they take the short trip down Highway 55 to the Paynesville Tournament, starting at 10:00am. Teams at this tournament include: Dassel-Cokato, Paynesville, Burnsville, Pierz, Delano, St. Michael-Albertville, and Watertown (SD).
-The Lady Jaguars danceline will compete at the New London-Spicer High School on Saturday January 13 in the fourth meet of their season. Monday night (Jan 8) they were at the Albany High school.

This post brought to you by these B-B-E businesses.

Tough Night in Jaguar Country - Jaguar Basketball Drops 54-34 Game at Kimball, Jaguar Wrestling Loses Travis Rath For the Season

Friday, January 5th was a very tough night in Jaguar country in home- and away action for the Jaguar wrestling and basketball teams. The Jaguar basketball team traveled to Kimball for their Central Minnesota Conference opener and lost 54-34 in their worst performance of the season. Meanwhile, back at the B-B-E High School, the wrestling team was hosting an eight-team invite. While the entire team did very well and put five guys in the Finals Round, they suffered a heart-breaking blow when Travis Rath (152) went down to injury in the Championship match.

It appears that Rath will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. He has 93 career wins, going 5-1 as a sophomore this year. He was easily on track to shatter the current B-B-E individual career record now held by Anthony Vait (Class of 1999). It is unclear at this point whether or not his injury is career-ending. He is arguably one of B-B-E's most competitive and hardest-working athletes our school has ever seen. Sometimes life just is not fair.

The Jaguar wrestling team has one week to regroup and get their new lineup in place before traveling to the Lac qui Parle Valley Triangular next Friday (Jan 12). The Jaguar basketball team, however, has less than 19 hours after the end of the game in Kimball to recharge and do battle with a strong Swanville team at the Swanville High School tomorrow (Jan 6).

Other Central Minnesota Conference boys basketball games:

@Pierz 70, Howard Lake-Waverly Winsted 51 (halftime: Pierz 37, HL-W-W 32)
@Eden Valley-Watkins 40, Holdingford 35 (halftime: EV-W 18, Holdingford 18)
*The Huskers shot out to a 14-1 lead to start the game.
@Rockford 88, Maple Lake 64


This post brought to you by the following fine B-B-E area businesses.

Lady Jaguar Basketball- Rough and Tumble 54-50 Win at Holdingford, 2-1 Conference Record

Tonight at Holdingford, against a Huskers team that knocked off two-time defending Central Minnesota Conference Champion Eden Valley-Watkins last month, the Lady Jaguars basketball team battled out a 54-50 win to up their CMC record to 2-1, their best start after three games in the CMC since 1999-2000.

The Lady Jaguars played solid defense for the game's first ten minutes, earning a slim 14-12 lead at one point, only to give up a 12-0 run to Holdingford over a seven-minute span. The Huskers' run was broken by two paint shots by April Hansen at the 4:30 and 4:03 mark before halftime, Lady Jaguars down 24-18.

From that point on, they picked it up and built momentum going into the second half in which they proceeded to move up 37-33 with 12:29 remaining in the second half.
After falling behind 43-42 with 7:25 left, the Lady Jaguars stiffened their defense and maintained a two- to six-point lead the rest of the way.

The Lady Jaguars look to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Swanville for non-conference action this Saturday (January 6) for a 2:00pm game at the Swanville High School. It is a double-header, with the Jaguar basketball team to follow the girls' game.

In other CMC games, the Pierz Pioneers (2-1 CMC, 8-2) knocked Rockford (2-1 CMC, 6-3) out of first place with a 55-45 win over the visiting Rockets. The Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers visited last-place Maple Lake and beat the Irish in another typically tough CMC battle 53-46. The Lakers are in first place alone at 3-0 in the CMC and are 8-3 overall. The Irish moved to 0-3 in the CMC and 5-5 overall. Eden Valley-Watkins (2-1 CMC, 6-3) traveled to Kimball (0-3 CMC, 2-8) and beat the Cubs 76-31.

With tonight's win, the Lady Jaguars set themselves up for a big showdown on their homecourt with Eden Valley-Watkins next Tuesday at the elementary school.




This post brought to you by these local B-B-E businesses. Your patronage is appreciated!

KMGC Smooth Magic 107.1 F.M. (Glenwood) Broadcasts of Jaguar Basketball Games

A big thank you to Deb Van Buren of North American State Bank who tipped me off to the following broadcast schedule for Smooth Magic 107 coverage of our Jaguar basketball squads:




Friday, January 12
Girls' Basketball
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa @ Pierz 7:30


Monday, January 22
Girls' Basketball
Osakis vs. BBE @ Brooten 7:30


Monday, January 29
Boys' Basketball
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa @ Osakis 7:45



Friday, February 2
Boys' Basketball
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa @ Holdingford 7:30



Friday, February 23
Boys' Basketball
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa @ Melrose 7:30