Jaguars Basketball -- Oh So Close: 70-67 Loss to conference unbeaten Rockford on the Rockets' Home Floor

What a difference one win can make?

Last week the Jaguars basketball team picked up their first conference win of the season, and second overall, by a one-point margin against Maple Lake. That exciting win came on the heels of a number of big losses to very good teams over the past three weeks.

Tonight the Jaguars traveled to Rockford to face the conference-unbeaten Rockets, CMC champions in 2005 and 2006. Coming in, the Jaguars were sitting tied for 7th place in the CMC with Kimball at 1-8. On paper they did not have a prayer, especially in the gym recently voted in an online poll as the toughest place to play in the Central Minnesota Conference (online at www.centralminnesotaconference.com).

However, the game is played on the hardwood, not on a stats sheet.

After trailing Rockford 41-28 at halftime, the Jaguars outscored the Rockets 39-29 in the second half and nearly pulled off the biggest upset of this decade in boys basketball action. They fell behind by as many as 19 points in the second half, and cut the deficit down to one point. Their last-ditch three-point attempt missed, after Rockford sank two free throws for a three-point lead.

The Rockets improved to 10-0 in the CMC and 17-5 overall. They have a two-game lead over second-place Pierz in the standings, with four CMC games left on the schedule.

For the game, the Jaguars shot 56% from the floor, including 60% (27-of-45) inside the three-point line.

They look forward to hosting two games this week Thursday (Upsala) and Friday (Kimball) at the high school, as they have a shot at doubling their win total for the season. More importantly, winning more games will only raise their confidence level heading into sub-section playoffs, where anything can happen on game night.

Results from Central Minnesota Conference boys basketball action tonight:
@ Holdingford 47 (5-5 CMC, 14-7), Pierz 56 (8-2 CMC, 16-4)
@ Kimball Area 50 (2-8 CMC, 5-12), Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 48 (2-8 CMC, 8-13)
*A big win for the Cubs as playoff seeding approaches next week, making a mess out of the standings and head-to-head combinations. The Lakers beat the Cubs 75-54 on January 8 in Howard Lake. They have been stung in their past two games against Sub-Section 5AA-20 teams, losing 84-81 to Paynesville last week. The Jaguars could really shake things up by beating Kimball this Friday and Howard Lake next Tuesday (both home games).

This week the Lady Jaguars have two games, a road trip to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (9-2 CMC, 18-5) on Thursday, and a home game on Saturday against Mayer Lutheran (11-11). The Saturday game begins at 2:30 at the elementary school, with the B/C squads playing at 1:00.

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