Jaguars surge in the overtime period over the HLWW Lakers! They 'four-peat' as CMC champs!

Kirby Montbriand flies high to defend the shot of HLWW's sophomore center Tyler Sale tonight...Photo courtesy of Aaron Schultz, Howard Lake Journal.
The Lakers are faltering in the final two minutes of the game, and the Jaguars now hold a 71-65 lead with under 30 seconds left in overtime.

At 9:23pm, the game went final! The Jaguars won 73-68, with their final bucket coming on a layup by Brian Goodwin in the final 10 seconds of overtime.

The Lakers had a 40-32 lead a few minutes into the second half.

The Jaguars tied the game 50-50 after they trailed 46-41 with 10 minutes left in the game. From there it was close down the stretch. With 6 minutes left the Jaguars were up by one.

The Lakers held a 61-59 lead with around 3 minutes left, but at the 1:46 mark, James Kuefler hit two bonus free throws to knot it at 61-61.

HLWW ran down most of the final 90 seconds of regulation but couldn't break the 61-61 tie.

B-B-E outscored the Lakers 12-7 in the extra period.

At Belgrade, a large contingent of girls' basketball fans cheer as the overtime period ends at Howard Lake. The game was aired on Smooth Magic and broadcast over the public address system at the high school gymnasium...

**With the win, the Jaguars improved to 12-0 in the CMC and clinched a share of the conference title!

Following the game, Connor Goodwin said on the post-game interview on Smooth Magic 107, "We knew they were going to come out and try burning down the clock. We let them go awhile...then we did some quick double teams and tried to keep them from getting to the basket."

Kirby Montbriand and James Kuefler were also interviewed.

Kirby Montbriand said, "This is just an amazing experience for us. This is one of the greatest games I've played in."

About the overtime period, "Our defense really stepped it up at the end. Our guys ran the double teams really well. Their passing was disrupted, and they couldn't get off a good shot. We can still improve our defense, though."

About HLWW, Montbriand added, "They are definitely the quickest team we've played. They are excellent off of the dribble and can shoot the three."

...other information from D-Mac...

The second half was tied 50-50 with around 7 minutes left after the Jaguars had fallen behind 40-32 and 46-41 after halftime.
Ties took place at 50, 51, 54, 59 and 61-all.
Brian Goodwin went off for 27 points. He had countless drives to the basket and went 4-of-4 at the line in overtime. He was perfect on free throws for the game.
Connor Goodwin had 26 points; Kirby Montbriand had 11 points.
James Kuefler had 7 points and Billy Borgerding had 2.
B-B-E won the battle on the boards by a 39-26 margin.
HLWW had 26 fouls, and BBE had 17. The Jaguars went 25-for-33 at the line and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. HLWW went 10-of-15 at the stripe.
For the game, ties took place at 2, 17, 23, 25, 29 and 50, 51, 54, 59 and 61-all. Five lead changes took place, with the final one taking place on the first bucket of the overtime period.

What a game!

HL-W-W falls to 17-7 overall and 8-4 in the CMC; they can finish no better than second from here on out.

Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball score on Feb. 24:
Rockford 64, Eden Valley-Watkins 38 (the Rockets could be a dangerous team in the Section 5AA playoffs)

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on Feb. 24:
Maple Lake 66, Holdingford 30
Eden Valley-Watkins 50, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 31 (a mild upset; HLWW finishes 13-1 in the CMC with sole possession of the title)
Pierz 38, Kimball Area 29

Area girls' basketball scores on Feb. 24:
Melrose Area 55, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 35
Osakis 63, West Central Area 55
Ashby 49, New York Mills 26

Area boys' basketball scores on Feb. 24:
Sauk Centre 57, Albany 52 (Albany led 32-30 early in the 2nd half; both teams finished tied for 2nd in the WCC-North at 7-3)
Willmar 77, St. Cloud Tech 62
Melrose Area 73, Paynesville Area 49 (the Dutchmen win the WCC-North title outright)
New London-Spicer 66, Minnewaska Area 47 (NL-S led 38-22 at halftime)
Montevideo 66, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 44
Battle Lake 52, Brandon/Evansville 28
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 69, Hancock 68
Ashby 69, Underwood 43
Dawson-Boyd 80, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 59
Henning 69, Sebeka 57

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