Jaguars Boys Basketball survives a first-round scare from #8-seed Henning, blasts the Hornets with a strong second half in a 63-37 win

The Jaguars boys basketball team improved to 24-3 tonight with a win over a pesky Henning Hornets team.

The Jaguars slogged it out in the opening minutes of the game, in which the score stood at 10-10 with just over 11 minutes gone in the game.

Matt Goodwin took charge, scoring three straight buckets to give the Jaguars a 20-12 lead.

At halftime the score stood at 24-16, and the Jaguars led 36-26 with just under 10:00 remaining in the second half.

Finally they opened things up and managed to hold Henning (11-16) to 21 second-half points, winning by the wide final margin.

The #1-seeded Jaguars boys basketball team will face the #4-seeded Wheaton-Herman/Norcross Warriors this Saturday at 1pm at the University of Minnesota-Morris P.E. Center in the Sub-Section 6A-South semi-final round.

Hopefully the Jaguars will show up with their game face on, as they learned tonight that taking any team lightly is a formula for disaster in the playoffs.

Wheaton-Herman/Norcross blew away a very good Hancock team tonight in their playoff opener, winning in Wheaton 58-36. The Warriors built a big first half lead and were up 38-21 at halftime. It was a rubber match between the two Pheasant Conference rivals, as they beat one another on the other's home court during the regular season. On January 19, Hancock won in Wheaton 57-52, and on February 23, the Warriors returned the favor and then some by blowing away the host Owls 79-59.

The 15-8 Warriors defeated a very good West Central Area team 57-48 on March 5 and have won four games in a row. They've also played #3-seed Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley tough in two Pheasant Conference games.

It will be all out war on Saturday. Bring the whole neighborhood and plan some caravans to Morris for Saturday morning. The Jaguars would love a big crowd behind them at UMM!

Other results from Section 6A:
Ada-Borup 80, Waubun 54
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 45, Battle Lake 35
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 67, Brandon-Evansville 45
Norman County East 72, Lake Park-Audubon 59
Norman County West 45, Barnesville 43
Park Christian 76, Ulen-Hitterdal 48

Section 5AA results, with two CMC teams picking up playoff wins:
Foley 48, Meadow Creek Christian 39
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 49, Glencoe-Silver Lake 46
Maple Lake 66, Eden Valley-Watkins 54
Mayer Lutheran 74, Litchfield 69
Sibley East 68, Rockford 29
St. Cloud Cathedral 59, Milaca 38
Watertown-Mayer 78, Norwood-Young America 49
Zimmerman 57, Kimball Area 45

Section 6AA results, with West Central Area knocking off Minnewaska:
Albany 78, Holdingford 37
Breckenridge 67, Osakis 55
Melrose 56, Sauk Centre 53
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 72, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 42
New London-Spicer 61, St. John's Prep 25
Pierz 64, Paynesville Area 50
Staples-Motley 80, Benson 58
West Central Area 67, Minnewaska Area 55

Section 5A results:
Barnum 64, Royalton 50
Bertha-Hewitt 55, Swanville 46
Cromwell 66, Hill City 64 OT
Isle 62, East Central 41
Nevis 77, Menahga 61
Northland 58, McGregor 48
Sebeka 68, Pine River-Backus 30
Upsala 86, Eagle Valley 67

Here's a comment from a fan who saw the WCA-Minnewaska game last night:
WCA held Minnewaska to around 36% shooting for the game, and made Minnewaska earn those 55 points, which was 11 points under the Lakers' average per game. The Knights scored the first four points of the game, and never trailed throughout. West Central Area frustrated the Lakers, with some outstanding defensive work. It seems the Knights found their comfort level much sooner than did Minnewaska, and I don't know if the Lakers ever got comfortable on their home floor. Around midway through the first half, WCA started to pull away, getting on a 14-2 surge to go up 33-14 with three minutes remaining in the half. While Minnewaska reduced the margin to 17 at the break, the Lakers never had that series of possessions where they could go on a 12-2 run or something like that. The closest the Lakers got after halftime was seven points with under four minutes remaining, but the Knights got a lay-up or two against full-court pressure, plus some free throws to salt the game away.

I had some Minnewaska Laker fans come up to me after the game, wondering what went wrong (not that I'm any guru, with all the answers). West Central Area won the battle on the boards by about 8-10 rebound margin (including around 17 offensive rebounds), mixed in with the fine defensive performance, plus balanced scoring. This was not the Sam Richards show by any means! Four players, including Sam, scored between 12 and 16 points. When you get balanced scoring, out-rebound your opponent, plus you get more hustle plays in your favor, it all adds up to a win. I'm one who walked away from the gym not thinking what Minnewaska did wrong, but what West Central Area did right. My hats off to Coach Hunter and the Knights Basketball team!

For West Central Area to have a shot against Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Saturday, the Knights are going to have to have some composure, try to hold their own on the boards, and not get frustrated if the Tigers go on a run. Plus shoot better than 50% from the free throw line! 16 misses from the stripe (out of 32 attempts in the win Thursday evening) won't cut it against Morris/C-A Saturday night. Morris/C-A won by 20 over West Central Area earlier in the season. Let's find out if it's more competitive at UMM on Saturday.

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