Step III: Battered by the Battlers

A rough game played out for the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team as their season came to an end tonight at the hands of the state-ranked (No. 9) Battle Lake Battlers in the Sub-Section 6A-South championship game.

As so many B-B-E teams have before this one, the Jaguars struggled to find their groove and their shot at the University of Minnesota-Morris P.E. Center.

Here's the final moments of the first half:

Final: Battlers 74, Jaguars 54. The Jaguars cut it to 12 or 14 points on a number of occasion but couldn't manage to get it to single digits. The state-ranked Battlers were too strong and too quick in the paint.

*Upset central in the north half of Section 6A! The favorite to win the section, undefeated Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, lost to No. 2-seeded Lake Park-Audubon 80-63 at Concordia College-Moorhead tonight. HLA finishes 26-1 overall, while LP-A improves to 25-4 on the season and will face Battle Lake for the right to head to the state tournament.

Halftime in Morris

Battle Lake 39, Jaguars 25. It was rough from the get-go, as the state-ranked Battlers (23-6) jumped in front 17-2 in the opening minutes and kept the lead around 15 points the rest of the half..

(Video) Child care unionization dominates Town Hall mtng

A change of scenery from sports...here's what I was involved with on Saturday morning in Willmar while many of you were still asleep!! Look for a full story in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper...



That child care unionization issue is UGLY. Not much else to say beyond that.

Band concert rescheduled!!!

Here is an urgent note from the B-B-E school Facebook page:

IMPORTANT: The 5-12 Band Concert has been rescheduled to Monday March 21st at 7 p.m. due to the boys' basketball subsection championship game where the Pep Band will be playing in Morris this Monday (tomorrow).

Details for Monday, February 29: the pep band bus will leave Belgrade at 4:15, Brooten at 4:30. Please share to help spread the news.

Additional playoff coverage

Check it out at the Bonanza Valley Voice website, and look for "breaking news" to read more on the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team and the members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team who competed at the Class 1A state wrestling tournament this past weekend:

http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/section/sports

First half at UMM!

At halftime in Morris: B-B-E 29, Hancock 27. The Owls led for almost the entire first half.

Still waiting for an update from Xcel Energy Center. Canon will go for fifth place at 4:30 p.m.

The Jaguars beat Hancock 58-49!!! They play on Monday night at 7 p.m. against top-seeded Battle Lake at UMM in the subsection finals! Way to go!

**Also....Ben Thompson will go for third place at tonight's finals at state. Colby Schramel will go for fifth.

Updates: Canon Swanson placed sixth in the finals. Colby Schramel took sixth, and Ben Thompson placed third!!!

Day two at the X

In the wrestlebacks at state, Canon Swanson and Ben Thompson both won this morning!

Next is Colby Schramel in the state semifinals.

All three Jaguars will be on the medals stand tonight at the Xcel Energy Center!!!!

*Update: Schramel lost a 6-3 decision in the semifinals. He will compete in the wrestlebacks along with Ben Thompson and Canon Swanson after 12:45 p.m.

State wrestling!

Colby Schramel won his state quarterfinal match!! He beat the number one seed in his bracket by a 4-3 decision! Whew! What a night!

The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will have three guys competing on Saturday for a shot at state medals: Schramel, Ben Thompson and Canon Swanson. Schramel can do no worse than sixth place. What an incredible night for our wrestling program!

Check out additional state coverage coverage at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website:
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2016/02/25/sports/state-wrestling-success/208.html

...and the main link to the Bonanza Valley Voice website's sports section is:
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/section/sports

By the way, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team ended their regular season with a win after beating visiting Holdingford 45-39 tonight; they are 18-8 overall heading into the playoffs for the second year in a row. I made it back from Xcel Energy Center in time to get some family time and then get to the high school for pep band and the varsity girls' basketball game. It was also fun to be part of a little celebration of Coach Kristina Anderson's birthday afterwards! Thanks for the cake!

That's all to post for tonight. I am covering a town hall meeting at 8:30 a.m. in Willmar with State Senator Lyle Koenen. Tomorrow will be another busy day in the news room. If only I could clone myself to cover more ground!

Success at the X !!

Canon Swanson won his state tournament opener by fall in the third period today at Xcel Energy Center in the Class 1A 106-pound division. He advances to the state quarterfinals which begin tonight.

At 113 pounds, Tyler Bents lost 6-3 in his state opener.

At 152 pounds, Colby Schramel won 8-4 to advance to the state quarterfinals!!!

At 195 pounds, Ben Thompson won by pin in the second period!! Another advancement to the state quarterfinals!

The state quarterfinals begin at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Step I: Home Cooking!

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team won 66-58 in the playoff opener tonight against Parkers Prairie after holding a 28-23 lead at halftime. The Panthers end their season 15-12 overall, while the Jaguars advance with a 14-12 record.

Here's video from the end of the first half:


Hancock won 62-55 in their game tonight and will square off with the Jaguars in the Sub-Section 6A-South semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2:45 p.m. at Jim Gremmels Court in the P.E. Center of the University of Minnesota-Morris. The other semifinal game (with a 1 p.m. tip off in Morris) features top-seeded Battle Lake against fifth-seeded West Central Area.

By the way, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is seeded No. 3 in Sub-Section 5A-South, where they are the defending champions. The Jaguars are 17-8 overall heading into tomorrow night's regular season finale against Holdingford at home. They host a playoff opener next Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. against No. 6-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (13-13 overall, 8-8 Camden Conference North). I'll post more about the playoffs for the girls' basketball team on Friday or Saturday.

...and by the way, I spent about two hours tonight getting photo albums updated and adding recent albums from the month of February...to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's online gallery that you can find at this link:
http://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/

Sub-Section 6A-South boys' basketball playoff scores on Feb. 25:
Hancock 62, Brandon/Evansville 55
West Central Area 52, Ortonville 47
Battle Lake 69, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 39

Section 5A boys' basketball playoff scores:
Kimball Area 67, Upsala 32
Swanville 92, Isle 37
Bertha-Hewitt 60, East Central 54
Browerville/Eagle Valley 111, Onamia 39

Section 6AA boys' basketball playoff scores:
St. Cloud Cathedral 64, Foley 45
Braham 86, Milaca 73
Holdingford 78, St. John's Prep 47
Sauk Centre 73, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 42
Albany 62, Osakis 27
Melrose Area 58, Royalton 29

(HD video) Reller wins at sections

Here's Joe Reller winning 6-3 in the third-place match of the 220-pound division at the Section 5A tournament this past weekend:

See all the coverage of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team and read about the state wrestlers in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

And tonight let's cheer on our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team against Parkers Prairie in the playoffs!!! If you can't attend, 106.5 FM The Train will cover it.

Basketball playoffs

Parkers Prairie blasted 10th-seeded Ashby 94-59 to advance to the subsection quarterfinals. They travel to B-B-E this week on Thursday night for a 7 o'clock game with a 15-11 overall record.

Game broadcast

Actually "games" - plural...two games will be broadcast on Tuesday night. Here are the details...

Tomorrow night (Tues., Feb. 23) the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team travels to Sauk Centre to face the No. 2-ranked Mainstreeters (23-1) at Sauk Centre high school.

Mid-MN Sports (http://www.midmnsports.com), who brings continuous coverage to the public for Sauk Centre and Melrose Area high school sports teams, will provide a live streaming broadcast to both the JV and varsity games that night. The JV girls' basketball game starts at 6 p.m., and the Alexandria Aces basketball program will give another of their terrific performances at halftime of the varsity game.

Again, you can watch both games online at http://www.midmnsports.com. Also, you can listen to the varsity game (7:30 p.m. tip-off) on BOB FM at 105.5 FM out of Albany.

State wrestlers

Video from the end of the 106-pound championship match at today's Section 5A wrestling finals in Long Prairie:


Two members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned repeat trips to the Class 1A state wrestling tournament! They are Tyler Bents (113-lb. section runner-up) and Colby Schramel (152-lb. section champion).

Canon Swanson, eighth grader, shown during the third period of his 106-pound match for the Section 5A championship today in Long Prairie. His opponent was Will Magaard of K-M-S.

Two other Jaguars punched tickets to the state tournament: Canon Swanson (106-lb. section champion) and Ben Thompson (195-lb. section champion).

Here's video from the end of the 152-pound title match, with Colby Schramel emerging as the champion:


The Class 1A state wrestling individual tournament begins on Friday, February 26 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and wraps up the following day.

In other news...it's also exciting to share this! The B-B-E junior high girls' basketball Jaguars (7th-8th grade) both won Central Minnesota Conference championships today! Both teams went 3-0 at their respective CMC tournaments, which were hosted by B-B-E schools.

Wrestling sections

Seven members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned spots in the Section 5A individual tournament's semifinal round. The action today begins at 12 p.m. at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school.

I'll try my best to post updates throughout the day on their progress.

Updates:
Isaiah Gilbert, Trevor Kern and Joe Reller will wrestle for third place tonight.

These Jaguars are in the championship matches to shoot for section titles!
Tyler Bents
Canon Swanson
Adam Jaeger
Colby Schramel
Ben Thompson

Updates: Canon Swanson and Tyler Bents will compete at state! And Colby Schramel!! And Ben Thompson!

Adam Jaeger did not advance from his true-second place match at 138 pounds.

Jaeger and Joe Reller finished in third place. Other updates plus video will be posted after 11 o'clock tonight.

Go Jaguars!!!!!!!! Let's get some tickets to the state tournament!

A wild game

After falling behind 30-9 in the first half, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team lost 67-64 to Eden Valley-Watkins tonight in a battle for second place. With 90 seconds left in the game, Hailey Braegelman scored to tie the score at 60-60.

The Jaguars (17-6) lost the game at the free throw line, where they were 12-of-31 overall. The Eagles improve to 14-8 overall with their third straight win, while B-B-E saw a four-game winning streak snapped.

Here's video from late in the game, starting under the four-minute mark with EV-W ahead 59-53...


Next week is unbelievably difficult, with teams on the schedule that are 43-3 overall this season. Sauk Centre (22-1) hosts the Jaguars on Tuesday, and Osakis (21-2) hosts on Thursday.

EV-W remains in the hunt for a share of the CMC title, sitting at 10-2 in the league. Kimball Area is 11-0 but has three conference games next week against Pierz, EV-W and HL-W-W. Tonight's loss officially takes the Jaguars out of contention for the conference title.

Noteworthy: last night (Feb. 18) the eighth-ranked Browerville/Eagle Valley girls' basketball team saw their 14-game winning streak end when Osakis beat them 62-59. The Silverstreaks are having an outstanding season, by far their best since 2008-2009 when they went 21-8 overall and lost in the Section 6AA championship game to New London-Spicer.

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on February 19:
Holdingford 48, Pierz 44
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 63, Paynesville Area 50

Area girls' basketball scores on February 19:
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 67, Pillager 47
Osakis 69, Parkers Prairie 41
BOLD 59, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 52
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 62, Benson 18
Montevideo 62, Melrose Area 43

Luck of the Irish

Maple Lake pulls out a 45-42 win tonight over the visiting B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team. The Irish led 8-0 with 10:44 left in the first half, but a buzzer-beater shot on a rebound by Derek Wiener tied the game 21-21 at halftime.

After going 3-11 in the Central Minnesota Conference last season, the Jaguars finished 7-7 this time around. They had an interesting trek through the conference schedule this year after starting 3-0, then falling to 3-3. They were 7-3 at one point in a tie for second place before losing four straight in conference play to end the season.

Radio

The boys' basketball game at Maple Lake will be broadcast on The Train, 106.5 FM.

Seeding!

This is very remarkable.

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned the No. 2 seed for the playoffs in Sub-Section 6A-South today. On Thursday, Feb. 25, they will host the winner of the No. 7 - vs. No. 10 play-in round game between Parkers Prairie (13-11 overall) and Ashby (0-24) at 7 p.m.

Battle Lake, the defending sub-section and Section 6A champion, is the top seed with a 19-6 overall record.

By the way, the B-B-E Robotics team fish fry and silent auction fundraiser was a smashing success!

Another win

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team beat Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 55-49 tonight to improve to 17-5 overall on the season.

The Lakers, who hosted the Central Minnesota Conference game, led 27-21 at halftime.

Random notes: the seeding for the individual Section 5A wrestling tournament takes place on Wednesday night. Seeding in boys' basketball in Sub-Section 6A-South will be posted on Wednesday afternoon.

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on February 16:
Maple Lake 35, Paynesville Area 25
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Pierz 47
Kimball Area 44, Holdingford 30

Area girls' basketball scores on February 16:
Minnewaska Area 59, BOLD 48  
New London-Spicer 49, Litchfield 40  
Montevideo 66, Benson 32

Area boys' basketball scores on February 16:
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 54, Central MN Christian 37
Annandale 51, Rockford Area 44
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 46, Upsala 42
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 77, Benson 61
Browerville/Eagle Valley 71, Royalton 37
St. John's Prep 58, Osakis 48
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Kimball Area 52 (CMC game)
Melrose Area 62, Holdingford 53
Albany 61, Milaca 48
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 58, Brandon/Evansville 57     
Sauk Centre 74, Staples-Motley 57
Hancock 77, Dawson-Boyd 68 (a big win for the Owls, and I predict this will push them past the Jaguars to nab the #2 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South)
Swanville 57, West Central Area 50 OT (I predict that the WCA Knight will end up seeded #4 in Sub-Section 6A-South)

Winning continues

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team won their third straight game tonight, defeating the visiting Paynesville Area Bulldogs 63-48. They're now 8-3 in the Central Minnesota Conference, while the Bulldogs are 0-11.

Don't forget!

Make tracks to Long Prairie next Friday / Saturday for the Section 5A wrestling tournament. It is especially important for a huge contingent of Jaguar fans to be there on Saturday for the final day of the tournament!!

Stung at the buzzer

It was a harsh ending for the second time in two nights for the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team. The difference between being 15-9 or 13-11 is razor thin. Consider this: against the top dog in the Central Minnesota Conference tonight, the Jaguars had multiple opportunities to expand on a slim lead late in the game after the Eagles came within one possession of closing a 14-point second half deficit. They even came oh-so-close to surviving an eight-minute long field goal scoring drought!! Yes, they went eight minutes without scoring a field goal yet still had the win within their grasp in the final two minutes.

Then at the final buzzer, the Eagles scored on the right block on an inbounds play to win 58-56 and improve to 11-1 in the CMC and clinch a share of the title. It's the first time since 2003-04 that EV-W has earned a share of the CMC championship.

B-B-E led 53-39 after sophomore Parker Schwinghammer nailed a three-pointer on the left wing with 10:12 left in the game. They did not score a field goal again, however, until 2:12 was on the clock and Tanner Heinsius hit a shot in the paint. That field goal made the score 55-52.

This is the fifth straight loss for the Jaguars, who are 13-11 overall and have one game left on the regular season schedule: next Thursday at Maple Lake.

Here's some video from the final minute of the first half:


In news out of Section 5A wrestling tonight: the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints are heading to the Class 1A state tournament after beating second-seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville 43-19 in the championship match at Paynesville. LP-GE/B made it to the final after beating Royalton/Upsala 35-28 in the semifinals. K-M-S rolled over fifth-seeded Benson in the other semifinal by a 57-6 score.

Overtime again!

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team had a 14-point lead in the second half tonight at Ortonville, but they went into overtime tied 51-51.

Update: it's in double OT!

Update: Ortonville won 66 to 65, sending the Jaguars to 13-10 on the season with their fourth straight loss.

At home tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team beat Maple Lake 70-60. With 11 minutes left in the first half, junior forward Hailey Braegelman drained a 10-footer to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for her career. The shot gave the Jaguars a 14-8 lead and put her at 1,001 points. She is the 10th girl in B-B-E school history to get past 1,000 points. Great job!!!

(Video) B-B-E vs. Kimball girls' basketball

Here's video showing the final 65 seconds of the game last week Friday between the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team and the first-place Kimball Area Cubs:


Come out tonight to support the Jaguars as they face Maple Lake at home!

Wrestling team's season ends

The playoff road ended abruptly for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team.

Tonight in the quarterfinals of the Section 5A tournament, the Jaguars lost 36-27 to Royalton/Upsala. They finish 13-7 overall.

The boys' basketball team lost to Holdingford 68-60, while the girls' basketball team beat Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 70-57.

Read more in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Valentine's weekend is coming

Above is one of many advertisements in the Bonanza Valley Voice for special events happening this weekend for Valentines Day!

(HD video) Farm animal games

Here's video from one of the Sno-Daze pep fest games held on Friday at the high school:

Yeah, B-B-E can do country as good as anyone in Minnesota!

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on Feb. 5:
Holdingford 52, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 46
Eden Valley-Watkins 58, Maple Lake 47

Area girls' basketball scores on February 5:
Willmar 44, Fergus Falls 38
Albany 41, Mora 21
Battle Lake 49, Underwood 37
Paynesville Area 57, Royalton 50
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 64, Ortonville 51
Melrose Area 50, Upsala 40
Sauk Centre 52, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 38
New London-Spicer 67, Royalton 35

Area boys' basketball scores on February 5:
Renville County West 64, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 50
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 76, Yellow Medicine East 48
Holdingford 66, Pillager 65
Fergus Falls 72, Willmar 45
Lac qui Parle Valley 48, MACCRAY 45
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 39, Royalton 31
West Central Area 57, Upsala 37
Swanville 54, St. John's Prep 51 OT
Browerville/Eagle Valley 66, Osakis 40
Melrose Area 81, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 62
Montevideo 72, Minnewaska Area 58
Rockford 58, New London-Spicer 53 (the Rockets stay in first place in the Wright County West Conference)
Benson 66, BOLD 62
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 62, Sauk Centre 51

Two tough losses

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team fell from second place in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 64-51 loss at Pierz tonight. Ice-cold field goal shooting in the second half spelled doom for the Jaguars, after they shot 42 percent on field goals and cashed three of four attempts on three-pointers in the first half. In the second half the Jaguars connected on just eight of 28 field goal attempts and missed all six three-point shots.

The Pioneers (12-8 overall) took possession of second place by themselves by outscoring the Jaguars 38-20 after halftime.

The Jaguars fall to 13-8 overall and 7-4 in the CMC.

Here's footage from the final minute of the first half against Kimball:

At home, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team saw their hopes for a share of the CMC title fade with a 63-59 loss to the first-place Kimball Area Cubs. B-B-E's record in the CMC is 6-3, while the Cubs improved to 9-0 (17-2 overall).

Halftime scores

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is ahead 31-26 at Pierz.

At home our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is losing 26-24 at halftime to Kimball Area.

With 10:30 left in the Kimball game, the Cubs are ahead 40-35.

See more coverage of the Jaguars at
http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

Wrestlers hammer two more teams

The eighth-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team blew out Ortonville 58-21 and Minnewaska Area 53-16 tonight to get to 13-6 in duals this season.

Playoffs begin next Tuesday in Long Prairie. The Jaguars are the number-three seed in Section 5A and do not know who they will wrestle in the quarterfinals. It will be the winner of the opening-round match between sixth-seeded Royalton/Upsala or 11th-seeded Ortonville.

B-B-E's quarterfinal dual in Section 5A will start at 8 p.m. at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school next Tuesday, February 9. The R/U vs. Ortonville dual will be held at the same location and will begin at 6 p.m.

2016 Section 5A seeding:
1.) Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
2.) Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville
3.) B-B-E
4.) Osakis
5.) Benson
6.) Royalton/Upsala
7.) Paynesville Area
8.) Holdingford
9.) New London-Spicer
10.) Minnewaska Area
11.) Ortonville

Here's video from the end of the 106-pound match vs. Minnewaska:


B-B-E's 13-6 record (5-1 Central MN Conference) rates as one of the best in school history! Nice work!

(Video) Wrestlers say thanks!!

And lots of thank yous!!!


Tonight the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team hosts a double dual with Ortonville (6 p.m.) and Minnewaska Area (7:30 p.m.)...both teams are in Section 5A with the Jaguars. Read more about the wrestlers in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

(Video) Little Jags wrestling

Here's a clip from Saturday's wrestling tournament at the B-B-E elementary school. Shown is Ethan Mueller earning a win by pin against New London-Spicer, a match that the Jaguars won by a score of 49-27.


I have photos from the NL-S match, but unfortunately I did not have room to publish them this week; look for them in next week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

B-B-E closing early

School will be dismissed at 2 p.m. today, and no after-school activities will take place. This is a weather-related announcement.