Basketball playoffs set to begin this week

And it's all official!

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has earned a No. 2 playoff seed in Sub-Section 5A-West. The rankings were finalized today, and defending champion Nevis (16-2) is the No. 1 seed. 

The Jaguars take a 14-4 record into playoffs and will begin on Thursday, March 18 with a home game at 7 p.m. against No. 7-seeded Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (3-15). This game will be the sub-section quarterfinals.

If the Jaguars win that quarterfinal game, they are set to host the semifinal on Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. and also on the home court at B-B-E elementary. They would play either No. 3-seeded Verndale (9-9) or No. 6-seeded Sebeka (5-13). Verndale and Sebeka face one another at Verndale on March 17 in their quarterfinal game.

If the Jaguars continue winning and top-seeded Nevis also keeps winning, they are on a collision course to face one another at Nevis high school for the sub-section crown. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24 at 7 p.m.

East Central (13-3) and Upsala (12-6) are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, in Sub-Section 5A-East.

The Section 5A boys' basketball championship is set for Wednesday, March 24 with a location to be determined. The tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

More to come.

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has earned a No. 1 playoff seed in Sub-Section 5A-West. The rankings were finalized today, and the Jaguars (17-1) are set to open the postseason on the home court at B-B-E high school on Wednesday, March 17 at 7 p.m. in the subsection quarterfinals. The Jaguars will host either No. 8-seeded Verndale (2-15) or No. 9-seeded Bertha-Hewitt (1-13).

Verndale and Bertha-Hewitt compete in a play-in round game on Monday night (tomorrow). If the girls' basketball team wins their March 17 game, they will host a subsection semifinal game on Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. If the Jaguars continue winning, they would host the Sub-Section 5A-West championship game at B-B-E high school on Tuesday, March 23 with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

In Sub-Section 5A-East, the top teams are defending champion and No. 1-seeded Ogilvie (13-5) and No. 2-seeded Braham (12-6).

The Section 5A girls' basketball championship is set for Thursday, March 25 with a location to be determined. The tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Sub-Section 5A-West girls' basketball seeding:

1. B-B-E (17-1)

2. Browerville (15-3)

3. Pine River-Backus (10-8)

4. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (7-9)

5. Nevis (9-9)

6. Sebeka (6-12)

7. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (5-13)

8. Verndale (2-15)

9. Bertha-Hewitt (1-13)

10. Laporte (1-13)

I had more to write about today, but I just received word of the passing of a truly incredible man named Yvo Jenniges. He passed away today at the age of 94, and you can read more about him in the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Yvo and Trudy Jenniges had nine children who all walked the halls of Brooten high school in the 1970s and 1980s. One of them, Benita, was one of my high school English teachers at B-B-E high school in the 1990s.

I am truly devastated by the news of his passing. But that's being a little selfish, as we know he is reunited with Trudy, who passed away in March 2013. Two of their children are also in heaven: Beverly and Pauline. Pauline (Segaar), a 1972 graduate of Brooten high school, was a force of nature in her own right who provided an immeasurable level of energy, wisdom and guidance to the B-B-E Fine Arts programs. She passed away after a 10-year battle with Thymoma cancer in July 2016. 

God bless the memory of Yvo Jenniges.