Both basketball teams lead by 4 at halftime tonight - Jaguars girls are stung by one-point loss to Rockford while Boys throttle Paynesville 88-72

B-B-E's Matt Goodwin and Brent Koehler collide with Paynesville's Matt Frenchick while going for a rebound under the Bulldogs' basket in a wild first half. It was a typical "border battle" where the records could be discarded at tip-off.

Kevin Kuefler stops in the lane for a shot attempt at Paynesville tonight, in a game won by the Jaguars 88-72.

The Jaguars girls basketball team took on the mantle of "heartbreak kids" tonight when they fell in a home game to Rockford by a 56-55 score in a Central Minnesota Conference game. The Jaguars are now 9-15 overall and 5-7 in the CMC going into the final two games of the regular season.

At halftime, the Rockets led 35-31. The Jaguars kept within striking distance in the second half, finally pulling ahead with 90 seconds left by a 55-54 margin on a field goal from Ashley Kirckof. With 14 seconds on the clock they missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line. On the missed free throw, a Rockets player was fouled on the rebound attempt to bring a bonus shooting opportunity for Rockford. She promptly sank both shots to give her team a come-from-behind win to make the 78-mile trip back down Highway 55 much easier.

Rockford's girls basketball team improves to 18-7 overall and 10-3 in the Central Minnesota Conference. They have 2nd place in the CMC locked up behind champion Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.

The Jaguars girls basketball teams's next game is on Thursday night at home against Maple Lake. That game will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train.

The Jaguars boys basketball team led 44-40 at halftime at Paynesville in a non-conference game. After going up 21-14 with 10:00 left in the first half, the Jaguars fell into a lull on both ends of the court, letting Paynesville take a 24-22 lead at the 7:38 mark with a three-point shot.

After Kevin Kuefler's two free throws tied the game, consecutive shots by Bennett Weller in the paint and beyond the three-point line put the Jaguars up 29-24 at the 5:40 mark. They didn't let up there, as shots in the paint from Connor Goodwin and Kuefler capped an 11-0 run for the Jaguars.

Ultimately, the Jaguars throttled the Bulldogs in a high-scoring affair, winning 88-72 at the final buzzer. They drained 6 three-pointers in the second half (10 overall) in which they outscored the Bulldogs 44-32. Five of the seven Jaguars who scored hit double figures.

An offense that puts 44 points on the board in each half of a basketball game will put a pile of "W's in the win/loss column.

Paynesville Area entered the game with a lowly 5-13 record, but they made the Jaguars work in the first half. It was a usual battle between the neighboring rivals, something that's expected when the two meet regardless of either team's record.

An online photo gallery at the Sauk Centre Herald website of pictures from the first half of the Paynesville vs. B-B-E boys basketball game can be found at the following URL: http://saukherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp

The Jaguars boys basketball team's next game is at Pierz this Thursday night, where they take on a dangerous 5-18 Pioneers team that has the ability to pull off an upset. They need two more conference wins to clinch a share of the CMC title.

In a game at "Fort Knox" in New London, the New London-Spicer Wildcats girls basketball team knocked off #1 Class AA-ranked Sauk Centre 45-41. The Wildcats led 29-21 at halftime, saw the lead shrink to 29-28, then pulled away for a period before the Mainstreeters came storming back. It was too little, too late, though, as the Wildcats hung on for the close win.

You can read more on the Sauk-NLS game at the Sauk Centre Herald's "Streeter Blog" = http://heraldsportsblog.blogspot.com/

Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball results:
Holdingford 54, Maple Lake 44
Kimball 58, Pierz 43

Area girls basketball results:
Canby 54, MACCRAY 53
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 50, Lac qui Parle Valley 41
Holy Family Catholic 65, Eden Valley-Watkins 33
Montevideo 57, Yellow Medicine East 47
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 60, Minnewaska Area 55
Browerville 41, Osakis 36
Buffalo Lake-Hector 74, BOLD 53
Melrose Area 49, Mora 41
Benson 70, Paynesville Area 36

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South girls basketball teams:
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 58, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 30
Brandon-Evansville 71, Ortonville 50

Area boys basketball scores:
Sebeka 80, Upsala 53
Yellow Medicine East 61, BOLD 46
MACCRAY 81, Redwood Valley 47
Albany 60, St. Cloud Cathedral 48
West Central Area 70, Pelican Rapids 63
Melrose Area 78, Foley 53
Maple Lake 66, Royalton 61
Sauk Centre 62, Holdingford 41
Benson 88, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 65
Bertha-Hewitt 45, Osakis 43
Dawson-Boyd 55, Lac qui Parle Valley 52
Foley 69, Pierz 54
Mora 75, St. Cloud Cathedral 65

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South boys basketball teams:
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 64, Brandon-Evansville 31
Ashby 45, Underwood 38
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 79, Hancock 59 (the Warriors may have clinched the #4 seed in the sub-section with this blowout win over the Owls)
Battle Lake 52, Parkers Prairie 38

Later today, two Youtube video clips will be posted from the first half of the B-B-E/Paynesville boys basketball game.

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