Boys' basketball starts 1-0 with heart-stopping win (VIDEOS!)

*More scores have been added to the end of this blog post on Wednesday night...

AND SO IT BEGINS! This was an exciting night to be a part of!

Facing a solid, experienced (six seniors) Osakis Silverstreaks team on their home court, the No. 2-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played an outstanding game to start the season. Each team wanted to push the floor on every possession, and the Jaguars played right with an Osakis team that was red hot on the arc nearly the entire game.

*Here's my second Winter Sports Show, recorded from the Buick in the courtyard of my office after returning from Osakis:


After trailing 8-3 in the opening minutes, the Jaguars built a 33-28 halftime lead.

Osakis came out firing right out of the locker room, and a three-pointer by senior guard Ryan Maddock with 16:20 left cut B-B-E's lead to 35-34. About 40 seconds later, Maddock canned another three-pointer to tie it at 37-37. Junior forward Kyle Mages scored in the paint with 15:20 left to put Osakis ahead 39-37.

With 11:33 left, Hayden Sobiech's three-point play put the Jaguars ahead 45-43.

With 4:05 left in the second half, Osakis scored in the paint to take a commanding 68-58 lead.

*Here's a clip featuring a glimpse of B-B-E's full court press late in the game:


A key part of the game came with 3:38 remaining, when Osakis missed the front end of a bonus free throw. Just 5 seconds later, Luke Dingmann cashed two bonus free throws to cut the deficit to 68-60.

Later with just under two minutes left in the game...THIS happened! (VIDEO)


With 58 seconds left, Jamison Reed drove in a layup off of the left wing to tie the game at 68-68.

**With 52 seconds left, Osakis called a timeout...here's a video clip during that timeout:


Then with 12.5 seconds to go, Kaden Pieper hit the first of two free throws after getting fouled on a drive to the hoop. Game winner! A potential game-winning three-pointer by Osakis clanked off the rim at the buzzer. It was a good shot made just beyond the arc.

Final: B-B-E 69, Osakis 68. I am having technical troubles with my card reader, but hopefully I will get video uploaded shortly.

Kaden Pieper, who surpassed 1,000 career points as a junior last January, provided a Hurculean effort with a career-high 39 points on incredible 15-of-24 field goal shooting plus seven rebounds and two steals. Next in scoring was Jamison Reed with 10 points. As a team, the Jaguars made 11 of 16 free throw attempts and shot a solid 42 percent on field goals, including 50 percent shooting on two-point attempts.

Osakis finished with 11 three-pointers, while B-B-E made just four of 18 beyond the arc. Maddock led his squad with 18 points with 5-of-13 three-point shooting.

Next: the Jaguars travel to Ashby after a nine-day layoff from action. The game in Ashby is on Thursday, December 15. The next night they are in Holdingford for the Central Minnesota Conference opener.

The kids in Jaguar Country never cease to amaze and inspire me. They are consistently passionate and supportive of their teams and of one another. BRAVO! We are living the GOOD LIFE here!

Area boys' basketball scores on December 6:
Redwood Valley 85, A-C-GC 68
Montevideo 83, Minnewaska Area 66

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on Dec. 6:
Holdingford 46, Paynesville Area 29
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 69, Maple Lake 45