Jaguars Basketball -- 82-54 Loss to Conference Leader Rockford on the Home Court

The Jaguars basketball team hosted the 13-4 Rockford Rockets tonight in a re-scheduled Central Minnesota Conference game from December. The Jaguars were soundly outplayed in the opening minutes and fell behind 32-8 before they got their act together and began playing good basketball. They managed to end the first half on a 20-9 run, down 41-32 at the break.

In the second half, they fell behind 54-32 and never recovered.

The Rockets moved to 7-0 in the CMC as the only team with an unblemished league record. They are 14-4 overall.

The C-squad Jaguars held on after building a 22-11 halftime lead to overcome a 32-30 deficit in the game's final minutes. After tieing the game at 32-32, they came through down the stretch with free throws to win 38-34.

Up next for the Jaguars basketball team is a Monday night game against Benson at the B-B-E High School. The Braves are currently 10-8 and are on a 2-5 streak in their past seven games, and their head coach Roger Lindahl, a 1981 Belgrade High School graduate and former standout Redmen football player, was seen in the stands scouting the Jaguars in tonight's game.

Six of the Jaguars' final ten regular season games are at home, so hopefully they can put together a string of wins as March playoffs get closer on the horizon. They host Maple Lake (5-3 CMC, 11-8) on Thursday (Feb 8) night.

The Lady Jaguars basketball team hosts the third-place team in the conference, the Rockford Rockets, on Tuesday night at the elementary school. Rockford is 6-3 in the CMC and 10-7 overall. Our Lady Jaguars (5-4 CMC, 8-7)are looking to avenge a 74-72 loss at Rockford from December in which they gave up a 9-0 run to lose their conference opener. They are in a solid position to continue building momentum as the regular season winds down and earn a high Sub-Section 5AA-20 seed. They have done a remarkable job since the New Year started, going from a 2-4 record and sixth-place sub-section standing to an 8-7 record and a solid grasp on fourth place in their playoff league. They must continue winning in order to stay ahead of St.Cloud Cathedral (9-12) and earn a first round home playoff game.

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