extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Monday, January 30, 2023
Busy, busy, busy
Sports blogging has taken a back shelf for the past 36 hours or so. The past few weeks were nuts! This weekend was time to start catching up on projects that were pushed aside in the midst of what was far and away the busiest January I've ever experienced.
*Important scheduling note: the re-scheduled game against Pine River-Backus for our girls' basketball team is NOT tomorrow night. Currently some confusion exists about that. The PR-B game will be at home on February 20. Please make sure everyone is aware of this! Both basketball teams are idle tomorrow night. The wrestling team travels to the Hutchinson quadrangular.
Area girls' basketball scores on January 30:
Central MN Christian 54, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 41
MACCRAY 54, Renville County West 21
Redwood Valley 49, Paynesville Area 48
I have this posted before open gym, but I'll get it more updated and added to after open gym tonight.
Both varsity basketball teams picked up border battle wins last night for Hoops for Hope 2023 in Jaguar Country. I learned that the JV teams split, with B-B-E's girls' JV basketball team winning by a wide margin, while the JV boys' basketball Jaguars lost.
Speaking of winning! Here's the end of last night's wild boys' basketball game:
It was 9:30 p.m. before the game concluded. I remember that tip-off was at 8:07 p.m. Sauk Centre has what I'd call a "fairly" young team that is mostly junior dominated. It's a safe bet that they will remember the loss last night when they host our Jaguars next season. Such is the nature of high school border rivalries.
**Here's a clip featuring the start of pregame drills for the girls' basketball team last night:
How many times can I say it? It is an extreme honor and privilege to cover our teams. They are wonderful kids. TOP to BOTTOM!
**Here's the B-B-E Pep Band in one of their songs during pregame before the girls' basketball game last night:
Today was a super busy day with youth basketball at A-C-GC high school and later the youth wrestling tournament at B-B-E high school (wrestlers placed fourth). I don't have a full set of results, but it was exciting to see the Class of 2031 girls' basketball team (4th grade) went 1-1 in Grove City. They trailed 6-2 in the opening game against Dassel-Cokato before pulling out a 10-7 win. In game two, the fourth graders lost to Maple Lake.
The Class of 2030 girls' basketball team (5th grade) lost their opening game 20-9 to Dassel-Cokato but then rebounded with a very satisfying 15-12 win against K-M-S. Also, one of the Class of 2029 girls' basketball teams (6th grade silver) finished 2-0 at A-C-GC with a 21-19 win against A-C-GC and then a 16-5 win over Maple Lake.
**In case you missed it, here's my Winter Sports Show No. 14 recorded late last night in my recording studio, AKA, the Chevrolet Suburban:
On the horizon... let's wish our B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team the best as they prepare for the Camden Conference championships on Monday night, January 30 at Dawson-Boyd high school.
**Speaking of the dance team...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper by the following short link and catch the JV Jazz squad performing at the home competition on January 19: https://bit.ly/3HD9nBS.
This blog post will be updated through tonight. I have had an incredibly long day that started with a 2-hour late start to school, a trip to Brooklyn Park for the Minnesota Newspaper Convention, then the trip back home. Busy, busy, busy. I wouldn't have it any other way! Once again I am completely blown away at everything I have taken in. This was another truly inspirational day and evening. WELL DONE! SO PROUD!
**This blog post is a wrap. The area scoreboard is posted below. A new blog post is coming after open gym tonight.
In terms of basketball, a completely packed house witnessed two outstanding games tonight as our varsity basketball teams hosted Sauk Centre on Hoops for Hope night at B-B-E high school in Belgrade. This was an incredible, incredible night to be a part of!! SO MUCH FUN! Both games were rock 'em, sock 'em battle royales from start to finish. The B-B-E Pep Band was there too, and they rocked it out across both varsity games! MARVELOUS!
For the No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, the game was a defensive struggle through much of the first half before both teams opened it up. B-B-E trailed 7-0 out of the gate and had to fight for most of the first half to gain traction. They later pulled in front 17-15 before surging before halftime. At the break: Jaguars 32, Mainstreeters 25!
**See the final 3 minutes play out here in this video from the first half:
The second half was a complete defensive battle, with the Jaguars ultimately holding the No. 13-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Mainstreeters 16 points below their scoring average. Final:B-B-E 46, Sauk Centre 41. The Jaguars shot just 26 percent from the floor and were ice cold from the arc at just 1-for-20. Abby Berge led the way with 21 points, and next was Allison Dingmann with 9 points.
Eveen more noteworthy: the Mainstreeters entered the game as the No. 2-ranked team in Section 6AA behind Albany. Holdingford is not far behind in the third-best QRF position in their section.
The Mainstreeters girls' basketball team fell to 12-4 overall and had a four-game winning streak halted.
A goliath-vs.goliath game played out to an incredible script in the nightcap, as our No. 9-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team duked it out with a terrific No. 15-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Sauk Centre squad led by B-B-E Class of 2011 graduate Kevin Kuefler, their second-year head coach. The visitors built a quick 10-3 lead with 13:50 to go, but the Jaguars fought back and tied it just 2 minutes later on a rebound shot by Kaden Pieper. The Jaguars took a 16-14 lead on Luke Dingmann's steal and layup with 8:40 to go, and the lead expanded to 18-14 when Jamison Reed scored in the paint on an assist by Tanner Shelton.
The momentum switched hands numerous times as the first half wore down. With 3:35 to go, the Mainstreeters built a 24-20 lead. They had a 26-22 lead with 1:40 to go, but the Jaguars pulled ahead 28-26 on a bucket by Shelton with 35 seconds left. Sauk Centre pulled even on a shot in the lane. Halftime: a 28-28 deadlock!
**Here's a video featuring the end of the first half:
B-B-E had a rough start to the second half as the Mainstreeters scored 6 unanswered points with less than 2 minutes played. The 34-28 deficit was erased when Pieper scored on a cleanup shot in the paint with 12:40 to go and tie it at 36-36.
A long list of Jaguars stepped up in huge, important ways tonight. It's hard to say "this player" and "this player" stood out, because tonight was a total team effort by the Jaguars. Final:B-B-E 59, Sauk Centre 57. Brady Schwinghammer delivered three huge three-pointers in the second half to prove an offensive difference-maker. His last three-pointer came with just over 3 minutes to go and gave the Jaguars a 58-50 lead. Earlier, just after Sauk Centre tied the game on a three-pointer with 6:33 left, Schwinghammer drained a three from the left wing with over 5 minutes to go for a 53-50 lead.
*Here's a video clip from the final minute of the game; Schwinghammer's free throw was HUGE at this juncture!
The Jaguars stepped up in huge ways on defense all night. Where to begin!?!? This game had suspense written all over it from start to finish. The outcome was in doubt all the way into the final seconds. The Jaguars had three players in double figures: Luke Dingmann with 18, Kaden Pieper with 15 and Brady Schwinghammer with 13. As a team, they shot 40 percent from the floor.
The Mainstreeters boys' basketball team entered the game as the fourth-best team in Section 6AA by QRF. They're now 10-3 overall and tied for first place with West Central Area in the West Central Conference (7-2 each).
**Here's my Winter Sports Show Number 14!!
IN wrestling news! The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team went 2-1 at Minneota today. They defeated HL-W-W 39-31 and then Minneota 33-30. I don't have a Canby score yet. **This is exciting: tomorrow (Saturday) is youth wrestling day at B-B-E high school! The Little Jags wrestling program will host a big dual tournament! If everything goes well I should make it in the afternoon. Fingers crossed.
More to come. Video is uploading. I have over 18 video clips to comb through from tonight's games. Crazy. I also shot approximately 400 pictures across the evening. CRAZY. Time to record a new sports show. I won't be back until after midnight.
Area girls' basketball scores on January 27:
BOLD 60, Minnewaska Area 45
Albany 59, Pierz 25
Pine River-Backus 61, Lake of the Woods 28
Upsala 61, Browerville 43
Verndale 56, Sebeka 45
New London-Spicer 49, Litchfield 37
Nevis 49, Greenway 26
Barnum 49, Swanville 45
Minneota 67, Yellow Medicine East 30
K-M-S 60, MACCRAY 37
Montevideo 70, West Central Area 62
Area boys' basketball scores on January 27:
Paynesville Area 62, New London-Spicer 41
A-C-GC 84, Maple Lake 37 (a CMC game)
Eden Valley-Watkins 62, Royalton 27 (a CMC game)
Albany 63, Osakis 43
Cass Lake-Bena 84, Blackduck 72
Battle Lake 52, Parkers Prairie 42
Ashby 66, Rothsay 43
Henning 83, Pillager 46
K-M-S 69, Canby 55
Browerville 65, Upsala 38
Nevis 70, Pine River-Backus 46
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 56, Brandon-Evansville 54 OT
Tonight is game night TIMES TWO in a unique way...we have a girls/boys double header coming on our home court at B-B-E high school in Belgrade. Both varsity games will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. The varsity girls' basketball game starts at 6 p.m. against Sauk Centre. The boys' basketball game will follow at about 7:30 p.m. **The Train 106.5 is also here!!
Preliminary game start at 4:30 p.m. at both the high school and elementary.
**Halftime: the girls' basketball team has a 32 to 25 lead after they trailed 7 to 0 out of the gate.
*Here's a short video clip from early in the first half:
**In the boys basketball game with 4:19 to go, the game is tied 20 all. **Halftime: this game is tied 28 to 28.
More to come *in a new blog post. Video is uploading.
NOTE: more updates may come to this blog post later today. I am heading to the Minnesota Newspaper Association annual convention in Brooklyn Park, then returning before 5 o'clock for the girls/boys doubleheader in Belgrade!! BOTH varsity games are in Belgrade tonight! Girls at 6 p.m. and boys at 7:30 p.m. against Sauk Centre for HOOPS FOR HOPE night! BE THERE!
Physical play and terrific free throw shooting helped lift the No. 12-ranked Holdingford Huskers to a 68-64 win over ourB-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team tonight. A 10-game winning streak comes to an end. This was a very, very physical but well-played contest. Multiple possessions were contested with brute force at times. The Huskers had a huge edge in the paint. My notes show all but one Holdingford field goal in the first half coming outside the paint (that other shot was a three-pointer).
The Jaguars rocketed out of the gates to build a 7-2 lead with a trio of Jaguars scoring: Brooklyn Fischer with a three, Harley Roering on a slash to the bucket and Abby Berge on the right block to make it 7-2 with 15:15 to go. The Huskers then scored six straight points before Tiyana Schwinghammer connected from outside with a foot on the arc at the 13:10 mark. The Huskers posted a 6-0 run before Schwinghammer drove the right side of the lane with 11:52 left to make it a 14-11 deficit. Each team scored 5 points over the next 4 minutes for a 19-16 Holdingford lead. Berge and Schwinghammer scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 21-21, with Schwinghammer draining a three-pointer from the Coop's Corner parking lot with 6:05 to to and a 21-21 tie.
After trailing 31-27 at halftime, the Jaguars fell back as much as 51-36 (9:58 to go) before ultimately playing the second half to a draw at 37 points each. The never-say-die attitude they displayed was something incredible to witness. A win tonight just was not meant to be. This fighting spirit that our Jaguars have will serve them well come playoff time. The physicality and brute strength of Class 2A Holdingford is something not typically found in Class 1A teams.
The Jaguars (12-3 overall) shot just 30 percent from the floor in the first half but scorched the nets to the tune of 64 percent field goal shooting in the second half. Overall they were 14-of-22 at the free throw line, one area where better shooting would have helped. Abby Berge with 19 points, Harley Roering with 14 and Tiyana Schwinghammer with 13 led the way for B-B-E.
**Here's a short cell phone video clip from late in the game starting with about 2:25 to go:
This was a tough loss to swallow. Beyond thoughts of winning and losing, I am going to go back to where I've been this entire fall: I am extremely proud of our Jaguars. Tonight was an extra special night for me as my Class of 2031 daughter joined this Top-10 varsity squad on their home floor. The B-B-E third grade team (16 girls strong!) had their time in the limelight. Before the pre-game drills began, a couple seniors boldly stated to me that we needed a large group photo. YES!!!!! YES! THANK YOU! I did not have the presence of mind to push that idea forward, and even had I thought of it, I would have never asked for this right before the biggest conference game of the season. Now four hours later, I just reviewed what I snapped on my cell phone, and Oh Boy it was a picture that will be printed large and hung in my office. It just might make it to print in The Voice too! A very, truly special photo of my daughter's team with an unforgettable varsity team that we are standing behind all the way! This is one forever grateful dad.
**Here's a lengthy video clip featuring the National Anthem, player introductions (including the Class of 2031!) and the first 5 minutes of the game:
The Central Minnesota Conference is now in the hands of Holdingford, who has a virtual two-game lead over our Jaguars at 8-0 compared to 7-2. To at least pull into a tie, the Jaguars need some help from the rest of the CMC. It is possible.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 26:
Paynesville Area 48, A-C-GC 34
Royalton 58, Maple Lake 28
Kimball Area 61, Eden Valley-Watkins 57 (at Eden Valley)
At Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team took it on the chin in a big, ugly way after they lost 41-18 to the host Fighting Saints. They trailed 35-14 at one point and were unable to come out of it. The loss will hurt at seeding time in Section 5A. The Jaguars defeated Benson in the other dual by a 45-26 score.
In our other home game tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team pounded Kimball Area 84-52 to get back in the win column. Noteworthy: tonight was the first game this entire season when the Jaguars have played with their full lineup. Jamison Reed returned to action after missing a few games and scored 7 points with 3 rebounds and one steal. The Jaguars shot 50 percent from the floor and made 12 out of 26 three-point shots. At the line they were 8-for-11.
HEY! LET'S PACK THE GYM TOMORROW NIGHT!!! Sauk Centre comes to town. Let's fill the stands!!!! We can do it!
More to come. Video could be uploading if I could find my backup card reader!!! GRRRR.
GAME NIGHT! Tonight! Huge stakes! (VIDEO, UPDATES)
This is game night in Jaguar Country! TIMES TWO!!THIS NEVER GETS OLD!
FIRST, a word from our sponsor, Heidi's Bar of Sedan!Bar Bingo will be held at Heidi's Bar in Sedan this Friday, January 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. The jackpot is $1,050! Nacho Bar availabe for only $6! Stop by for the BarGo, stay for the fun!
TONIGHT! The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team plays for first place in the Central Minnesota Conference with a home contest against No. 12-ranked Holdingford in Belgrade. This game is HUGE! The Jaguars are 7-1 in the CMC, while the Huskers are 7-0. If the Jaguars win, they will earn a half-game lead over the Huskers in the CMC standings for first place.
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling teamhas a big triangular at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at K-M-S high school that also includes Section 5A rival Benson. Both duals will count in potential playoff seeding scenarios.
Also TONIGHT! The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team attempts to put things back on track with a home game with Kimball Area in Brooten. They will look to take out their frustrations from Tuesday's loss.
Here's a video clip from that Tuesday game in Paynesville:
Multiple irons in the fire now with the office and administrative work bogging me down. More to come. I will put updates on this blog post as I get them.
Halftime: the JV girls lead 21-18 after they initially trailed 9-3.
And the girls game with over 2 minutes to go the Huskers are ahead 29 to 26.
Halftime: BBE trails 31-27 to the Huskers. This game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood.
**With just over 12 minutes to go, the Huskers are ahead 45 to 34. The Jaguars had a very rough start to the second half and have yet to recover.
With 10 minutes to go, the Huskers now lead 51-36 after scoring six unanswered points. **In the final two minutes of the game, the Jaguars trail 65 to 58.
**The boys' basketball team won 84 to 52 over Kimball.
Tonight brought fans in Jaguar Countrya tale of two completely different games.
On the home floor, the No. 8-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team put on another clinic in Central Minnesota Conference action. Facing a dangerous but sub-.500 Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles team, the Jaguars utilized 48 percent field goal shooting and another strong defensive performance while recording a 70-45 blowout win. Leading the way in scoring for B-B-E were Abby Berge and Brooklyn Fischer with 18 points apiece, and Harley Roering was right behind with 17 points (four threes). They are now 7-1 in the CMC and 12-2 overall and basically a game out of first place behind front-runner and No. 12-ranked Holdingford.
The Eagles fall to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the CMC with their third straight loss.
NEXT: the biggest game of the season thus far, by far! This Thursday, two nights from now, January 26, on our home floor in Belgrade...Holdingford comes to town, and the Jaguars need to win this game to avoid falling two games back in the conference race!! A must-win game! Holdingford's defense is outstanding: just 42 points per game average thus far. Crazy good.
Breaking: in Holdingford tonight, the Royalton girls' basketball team nearly pulled off a huge Section 6AA and conference upset before losing 51-50 in overtime. The Huskers (13-3 overall) remain perfect in the CMC (7-0). Meanwhile, at Paynesville earlier tonight, the host Bulldogs girls' basketball team defeated Kimball Area 45-43 to snap a four-game skid.
In our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball game, things did not go well at Paynesville. I was chomping at the bit to share this message the whole ride home after I left the game late in the second half. (I had to get back to Belgrade to pick up my daughter.) One big positive thing stood out to me as the Bulldogs were tearing up the floor at the expense of our Jaguars. After every missed bucket or errant pass or just a plain old turnover caused by Paynesville swooping in on one of our passes, our boys hung together. They continued to stick together and support one another as things were completely not going their way. They continued to play hard, give high fives (low fives) and provide one another with words of encouragement. They stood shoulder to shoulder with one another while watching Paynesville's Eli Nelson attempt three free throws with no time on the clock at the end of the first half. There was no barking or back-biting or anything that resembled a team that was falling apart. That is huge. That is very important in my eyes. Of course, getting worked over is tough. This is what we have been accustomed to doing to other teams. Now we taste it, and it is a sour taste!! The Jaguars will respond from this adversity and take it to Kimball Area on Thursday! Home floor...another conference battle awaits.
Final score: Paynesville Area 65, B-B-E 49. The Jaguars (10-3, 4-2) had 6 players score tonight and three in double figures: Kaden Pieper with 20, Luke Dingmann with 11 and Tanner Shelton with 10. B-B-E shot 5-for-17 from the three-point line but were an ice-cold 27 percent overall from the floor (16-for-58...ouch)...Here's the key statistic from my view: the Jaguars were totally outclassed on the boards by a wide margin. Paynesville had 36 rebounds compared to 21 for the Jaguars. Life is difficult when you are not getting second-chance bucket opportunities. The scorebook showed just 8 offensive rebounds for B-B-E, while the Bulldogs snared 25 defensive rebounds. The Bulldogs have won four straight while snapping B-B-E's seven-game winning streak.
*Here's a first-half video from Paynesville:
Early in that video clip, Tanner Shelton had a great look at the basket and put up a terrific shot that bounced out of the rim. It is a bucket that the Jaguars needed. The video clip tells the story: the Jaguars lost not for a lack of effort. They battled all night, but DANG! The Bulldogs were fast. They were "lights out" sharp on the loose balls and on rebounds.
Paynesville's Eli Nelson finished with 23 points. He did not make any threes in the second half, but he knocked down 3 threes all in the final 5 minutes of the first half, which made life very tough on B-B-E's defense. It was a remarkable performance for Nelson, who had lost 64-61 in his sophomore year on that same court to B-B-E and 81-50 in his junior year on that same floor to our Jaguars. Tonight was obviously different. Nelson was one of just two Bulldogs in double figures, but 8 Paynesville players scored overall, and they shot 8-for-27 from the three-point line. The Bulldogs improve to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the CMC. In the latest QRF rankings, they were rated 34th out of 126 Class 2A schools. Keep in mind: this Bulldogs team lost just 49-41 in Eden Valley on January 13. They also picked up a 47-44 win over Melrose Area, a top team in Section 6AA, on January 16.
**BREAKING: at Eden Valley tonight, the host Eagles boys' basketball team survived a scare from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in a 41-39 win.
More to come...IN THE MORNING. Time to wrap up my newspaper. I still don't know if I can get it to 14 pages...I will do my absolute best. I really need 14 pages this week. We'll see how my night goes. **Update at 8 a.m. Wednesday: I was unable to stretch the newspaper to 14 pages...we went with a "small" 12 page layout.
I have double duty tonight, once again! Holy moly!
Game updates to follow...from both B-B-E high school and also Paynesville!
** in the girls' basketball game, the Jaguars are ahead 12 to 8 with 12 minutes left in the first half against Eden Valley-Watkins.
In Paynesville, the boys' basketball team is getting worked over. With just over three minutes left on the clock, they trail 27 to 11.
Halftime in Paynesville: Bulldogs 31, Jaguars 16. The boys' basketball team is getting totally worked over right now. Senior guard Eli Nelson has scored so many points I can barely keep track of it. I have him for three three-pointers in the final 5 minutes of the first half. Overall I've watched him score 11 points since I arrived, which was at the 11:50 mark.
HALFTIME at the home girls' basketball game: B-B-E 41, Eden Valley-Watkins 20. Nice!!
Update in the girls' game against the Eagles: with just over 5 minutes to go, the Jaguars are ahead 62 to 36.
**Update from Paynesville: with 8 minutes to go, the Bulldogs are ahead 49 to 31. The Bulldogs have cooled off somewhat from the floor, but the Jaguars are still shooting as poorly as they did in the first half.
Another crazy, huge, big week ahead (VIDEOS added)
The excitement will come in waves upon waves in the coming weeks. It will not let up for hopefully 2 more months!!! It is possible!
One huge event is on the horizon on Tuesday, when our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team heads down Highway 55 for a border battle with the conference rival Paynesville Area. The Bulldogs are 11-4 overall and the No. 2-ranked team in Sub-Section 3AA-North at the moment.
Another game to circle on the calendar is Thursday night, when our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts first-place and No. 12-ranked Holdingford for a Central Minnesota Conference battle. The Huskers are 12-3 overall and 6-0 in the CMC. Their 12-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday with an 81-55 loss at Crosby-Ironton (9-5).
More to come. My Sunday was another crazy busy day. It was a joy to spend the day at BOLD high school in Olivia to watch four games featuring our Class of 2029 girls' basketball players (sixth grade) with the first game at 11 a.m. and the final game at 5 p.m.!
*Here's a video featuring Louie Tensen in action at 120 pounds in Howard Lake:
*Here's Tanner Viessman in his 152-pound consolation bracket match on Saturday:
The wrestling team's next action is at the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg triangular in Kerkhoven on Thursday, January 26 starting at 5 p.m.
For parents out there, I just ran across a story on my news feed about parenting...it included this nugget!!!! Wrap this around your head = According to Wadsworth (the guy interviewed in the story), “The hardest part of parenting is not rescuing your kids constantly.”
I won't have a better handle on the tournament until I arrive, but about one hour into the action, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team sits in sixth place (33 points) out of 14 teams at the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted invitational.
Class 2A "lean and mean" Big Lake is out in front with 62 points.
More to come. Time to pack my gear!
UPDATE at 2:36 p.m.! I've been here almost an hour, and we've had some great wrestling in that amount of time! I just watched Louie Tensen come back from a 1-0 deficit in the third period (consolation bracket) to win by fall (3:29) to get himself into the 120-pound fifth-place match. Nice! I'm still getting a handle on everything here at HL-W-W. Our Jaguars have risen to second place overall as a team at last glance. They have 117.5 points behind first-place and host HL-W-W with 121.5 points.
UPDATED team standings while we are still in the consolation/wrestleback round, as of 2:41 p.m.:
1. HL-W-W 127.5
2. B-B-E 123.5
3. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville 109.5
4. Annandale/Maple Lake 105.5
5. (tie) Big Lake and Rocori 83.5
7. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 81.5
8. Mound-Westonka 72.5
9. Buffalo 44.5
10. Minneapolis Edison 39
11. BOLD 18
12. (tie) Minneapolis Washburn and Rockford Area 10.5
14. Spectrum 5.0
*UPDATE: the finals have started! They got rolling at about 3:30 p.m. at HLWW high school. At 132, Ryan Jensen will go for first place. At 138, Wyatt Engen will go for first place. At 145, Brett DeRoo will go for third place. At 152, Tanner Viessmann will go for fifth place. At 160, Hunter Laage will go for fifth place. At 170, Maximus Hanson will go for first place. At 182, Carson Gilbert will go for third place. At 195, Talen Kampsen will go for fifth place. At 220, Ethan Spanier will go for first place. At 285, Harley Weber will go for third place.
At 106, Aiden Mueller finished in sixth place. At 113, Louie Tensen finished in sixth place with a very tough loss by a 5-4 decision.
** I'll get more updated after 7:00 p.m. when I get home. It's open gym night so time to hurry back for that.
*UPDATE: once the tournament concluded, the Jaguars ended in second place. HL-W-W took first place with 151 points, while the Jaguars finished with 140.5 points. In third place was LPGE/Browerville with 131.5 points.
**This is a video from the last 10 seconds of the first half last night in Kimball:
Now I'll circle back to wrestling videos from today at HLWW. Open gym was great tonight! Terrific turnout!!! Love it. Lots of student-athletes working to improve their game!!!
**Here's video from the 220-pound semifinals today:
*Here's action from the 106-pound consolation bracket today at HLWW:
At the HLWW invitational today...
For Jaguars who made it to their respective division championship matches today...
Ryan Jensen took second place at 132 pounds.
Wyatt Engen took second place at 138 pounds.
Maximus Hanson took second place at 170 pounds; he took his first loss of the season in the finals in a loss by an 8-4 decision; defeating him in the finals was HLWW's No. 6-ranked and senior Collin Boese.
Ethan Spanier took second place at 220 pounds.
Today was a very, very good day! I tallied over 13,100 steps. This is the most steps in one day since Saturday, December 10, 2022. On that day, I tallied over 16,000 steps.
Another absolutely incredible night...WOW! (VIDEO)
This was another incredible, incredible night for our varsity teams!
At Kimball Area in a physical, knock 'em, sock 'em football game-like Central Minnesota Conference battle, the No. 8-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team put on a defensive clinic against the host Cubs in a 56-39 win. They had a 56-36 lead going into the final minute, and senior Ellie Kuechle drilled an unguarded three-point shot with 20 seconds left for the final score.
*Here's a video clip from the middle of the second half tonight:
As I stated right away in the video, the Cubs had scored 4 straight points after they trailed 40-21 early in the second half. The Jaguars came out on fire out of halftime and led 32-17 just a few seconds in on a shot by Tiyana Schwinghammer. They were hellbent on not allowing the Cubs to gain traction and cut the deficit to single digits...and the Cubs were unable to do that. I know I can get in trouble for this, but I have to give a special shout out to Allie Dingmann for the incredible job she did defending the paint tonight against a very physical Cubs front line. I told her after the game: if she does not do the things she did tonight defensively, this could have been a completely different game. It is also true that every Jaguar who stepped on the court played some of the best defense they have all year. The "help" defense was outstanding!! This is terrific! This is just what we need going into next week.
Kimball Area entered the night in a three-way tie for fourth place in the CMC with a 9-4 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the league. The loss snapped their three-game winning streak. For the Jaguars, this win was especially remarkable considering that they gave up 63 points to the same team just two weeks and one day ago (January 5) in a 74-63 win. I feel that in the first meeting, the Jaguars were able to prevail in large part due to Kimball having a poor shooting night. Tonight the Cubs shot poorly in large part to the lights-out, in-your-grill defense!!! That was a blast to witness.
Now winners of nine straight, the Jaguars (11-2) built a 30-17 lead at halftime after Schwinghammer buried a three-pointer at the buzzer. She was part of a trio of seniors in double figures. Abby Berge led the way with 20 points, and Schwinghammer added 13 (5 steals) with Harley Roering getting 11 points on 57 percent field goal shooting. Allie Dingmann and Brooklyn Fischer each had 6 valuable points. Every player on the court did so many of the little things so well, much of which never shows up in a box score. Their defense was absolutely lights out phenomenal!! BRAVO! As a team the Jaguars shot 47 percent from the floor and went 7-of-10 at the line. NEXT: on the horizon for the Jaguars is a crucial three-game homestand that features two big conference games. The Jaguars are set to host Eden Valley-Watkins next Tuesday in Belgrade. After that comes first-place Holdingford on Thursday for what could very well be the conference championship game. On Friday, January 27, state-ranked Sauk Centre comes to Belgrade for a boys/girls doubleheader. More on that to follow.
I also want to give a special shout out to the C-squad and JV girls' basketball teams after their terrific games in Kimball tonight. The C-squad Jaguars won 42-22, and the JV Jaguars won 67-26. Coach Rambow stated that his JV team played their best game of the season and one of the better JV performances he has had in his career. He was really impressed.
At Ashby for a sub-section match up, the No. 9-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team picked up a 74-45 win for their SEVENTH in a row! The Jaguars (10-2) were led by Kaden Pieper's 23 points and Brady Schwinghammer's career-high 22 points! Schwinghammer was absolutely on fire and knocked down six of his 10 three-point attempts. Luke Dingmann was also in double figures with 11 points plus 6 assists, 2 blocked shots and 5 rebounds. Tanner Shelton returned to action from a hand injury he suffered at Holdingford on December 16. Five weeks later he is back! Off the bench the senior and fifth-year varsity player provided 7 points and 6 rebounds. Nice! As a team the Jaguars shot 50 percent from the floor and went 6-of-9 at the free throw line. NEXT: one of the biggest games of the season! Next Tuesday, January 24, the Jaguars travel to Paynesville Area for a huge, huge conference battle. Both teams are tied for second place in the league (4-1 each) behind first-place Eden Valley-Watkins.
And last but definitely not least, I finally reviewed the scores at New London-Spicer, and good gravy! The No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguar wrestling team picked up a massive tournament win by cleaning up the field to the tune of 259 points for first place compared to runner-up Paynesville's 168.5 points. The team and coaches and managers all have to get to bed as early as they can tonight, as they head out for Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted high school early tomorrow morning for a 14-team invitational. NO REST FOR THE WICKED!!!
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 20:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48, Maple Lake 33
Holdingford 49, Paynesville Area 45 (at Holdingford, the Huskers survive a scare from the Bulldogs)
NL-S wrestling invitational individual results:
At 106, eighth-grader Aiden Mueller won his semifinal by fall (1:24) before he lost in the championship by fall (3:05).
At 113, Noah Welte took fifth place while raising his season record to 14-12.
At 120, Louie Tensen won by fall (3:51) in the fifth-place match.
At 132, Ryan Jensen took first place and won a thrilling 11-10 decision in the championship.
At 138, Wyatt Engen took second place and raised his season record to 15-4 overall.
At 145, Brett DeRoo took third place and won a 7-4 decision in the final match to raise his season record to 15-7 overall.
At 152, Tanner Viessman was the No. 2 seed and blazed his way to the finals, where the junior defeated top-seeded Mason Plumski of Albany by an 11-8 decision.
At 160, Hunter Laage had an outstanding night and took third place after he won a thrilling 3-2 decision in his final match.
At 170, Maximus Hanson cleaned up his bracket with two pins and a tech fall (2:15) in the finals; he is now 22-0 overall!
At 182, Carson Gilbert took second place with a tough loss by a 5-3 decision in the finals to No. 9-ranked Hank Meyer of Kimball Area.
At 195, Talen Kampsen took fourth place; he had earned a big win by fall (1:04) in his quarterfinal match.
At 220, Ethan Spanier took first place with three straight pins! Even more exciting: all three pins took place in the first period.
At 285, Harley Weber blazed his way into the finals where the sophomore lost an intense battle by a 4-2 decision in overtime to senior and No. 4-ranked Spencer Eisenbraun of Paynesville.
More to come. Video is uploading (DONE!)
**Here's my 13th winter sports show of the season! The first one was recorded back on December 2:
This blog post is about a wrap...I can't stay up too late as I am driving to Howard Lake tomorrow to see our wrestlers in action!!
Area girls' basketball scores on January 20:
Lac qui Parle Valley 73, Yellow Medicine East 36
K-M-S 60, Canby 33
Minneota 55, MACCRAY 37
Glencoe Silver Lake 63, Litchfield 41
Annandale 60, Eden Valley-Watkins 54
BOLD 59, West Central Area 56
Montevideo 66, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 40
Braham 60, LP-GE 22
Ogilvie 51, East Central 41
Swanville 62, Sebeka 52
St. Cloud Cathedral 47, Melrose Area 45
Pine River-Backus 63, Blackduck 28
Henning 57, Menahga 37
Wadena-Deer Creek 57, Verdndal 42
Area boys' basketball scores on January 20:
Eden Valley-Watkins 57, Annandale 48
New London-Spicer 73, Redwood Valley 66
Montevideo 68, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 63
Sauk Centre 49, Melrose Area 36
Osakis 74, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 44
BOLD 72, West Central Area 58
This blog post will be updated on Saturday with more area scores. (DONE)
We have another busy, busy, CRAZY busy night ahead. Three varsity teams are in action tonight. I'll do my best.
At the New London-Spicer invitational, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has an early lead through the opening round on first place. The Jaguars currently have 95.5 points to Paynesville Area's 59.5 points. In third place is Pipestone Area with 51 points. Host NL-S is in fourth with 49.5 points.
I see at 106 pounds that Aiden Mueller won his quarterfinal match by fall (40 seconds) against an Eden Valley-Watkins wrestler. Awesome! At 113, Noah Welte won by fall (1:41) in his quarterfinal match! At 132, Ryan Jensen won his quarterfinal match by fall (35 seconds) against a senior from Ortonville.
Let's go back a few nights to Tuesday...here's video from the end of the game at Paynesville:
I've got a lot to get blogged once I get to Kimball tonight...stay tuned! The varsity teams went north (boys' basketball at Ashby) and east (girls' basketball)...more to come.
UPDATE from NL-S: the Jaguars have now racked up a whopping 197.5 team points! Wow. They have a huge lead over second-place Pipestone Area, who has 98.5 points. In third is NLS with 93 points. In fourth is Paynesville Area with 86 points.
UPDATE out of Kimball high school:the JV girls' basketball teamw won 67-26 over the Cubs. The C-squad team defeated the Cubs 42-22. The varsity game should tip off shortly after 7:10 p.m.!! *ALSO! This game at Kimball will be aired on The Train 106.5 FM of Norway Lake/Sunburg...their website to listen online is: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.
GAME UPDATES... With 5 minutes to go in the first half, Jaguars have a 19 to 9 lead at Kimball.
Halftime: B-B-E 30, Kimball 17.
In the second half with under 5 minutes to go, the Jaguars are ahead 51 to 34.
UPDATES and more in a NEW blog post. Hit refresh and reload this blog!
We still have a fair level of activity remaining this week, and it has already been a jam-packed and exciting week. Tonight just raised that to another level! This was a truly very special night to be a part of with our B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team. So much to talk about! Let's get into it.
The Pirouettes dance team hosted a six-team meet tonight at the elementary school. We had a near-packed house, and it was awesome!! A seventh team, Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, was unable to make the trip due to poor road conditions out west.
Teams performing tonight were:
B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes
New London-Spicer Blackcats
Canby-Minneota
Sauk Centre
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Sensations
Minnewaska Area
*Here's the varsity jazz team in action tonight performing to the song "Bird Set Free":
With the exception of the two members from Paynesville, I know all 11 B-B-E student-athletes on our Pirouettes dance team very well. They are such wonderful, hard-working kids who are extraordinarily kind and polite. If you don't know these student-athletes, you are missing out. They are very, very proud of their dance program and are quite dedicated to both self-improvement and team improvement! Led by B-B-E Class of 2015 graduate and head coach Katie Boie, the Pirouettes went through what was a not-so-easy transition in mid-December to split up their 13-person roster into varsity and JV squads. This created an extra layer of work and especially teamwork to pull off. Tonight those efforts paid off with the JV jazz squad earning a first-place trophy with a hard-fought win over New London-Spicer. They were so thrilled to earn this success! I am extremely honored to have a front row seat to all of this. That is a recurring theme to this 2022-2023 school year. And I absolutely LOVE it.
It is the hope of every member of the team and the coaching staff that this season can be a springboard to getting more student-athletes to join them for the 2023-2024 season. The future is bright for this sports program!
*Below is video of the exciting awards ceremony. This was such a joy to be a part of. Their reaction brought tears to my eyes:
The JV Jazz squad earned a ranking points total of 3.5.
AND I can FINALLY announce this after a month of trial-and-error and complete anguish after initially struggling to get a brand new and very expensive camera off the ground and up and running. I purchased a very expensive camera before Christmas and have trial-and-error'd different lenses on it. I am THRILLED to say that tonight's dance comp was the very first sports event that this camera started sizzling at!! I am still learning on it, but the camera really popped. I got some truly outstanding shots. It has taken almost a year of plannign and researching and saving money to pull this off!! I had been limping along from February last winter all the way through the end of 2022 with just one large digital camera. It is a very old model that has seen its better days...although I'm proud to say that it pulled off some amazing photography for me last fall with the high school musical. I am excited for what will be this new camera's second event at the Kimball high school tomorrow night!!! If you know me and my newspaper, you know that photography is very, very important to me...and it's the lifeblood of The Voice that allows me to make money and keep this operation afloat!!
More to come, including a result from the boys' basketball game at Royalton. **Also if anyone is reading this with interest in girls' basketball...the Friday night game for our Jaguars is AT Kimball. Some websites are listing this game incorrectly. Kimball has already visited our gym!! They will HOST our Jaguars tomorrow night in a big conference battle!
UPDATE from Royalton: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated the Royals 64-42. They have now won six straight games! A total of 9 Jaguars found the scoring column, and the Jaguars led 32-11 at halftime. NEXT: the Jaguars (8-2) travel to Ashby tomorrow night (Friday) for a Section 6A match up with the Arrows.
Final and parting addition to this blog post before calling it a day...here's a link to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website where you can watch part of the Central Minnesota Band Association middle school honors band concert. This was held on Saturday, January 14 at Elk River high school. Two members of B-B-E's middle school band participated in this awesome 'band camp" style day!! Thank you again to Mr. Biehn for lining this up!! Link: https://bit.ly/3whLUQc.
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 19:
Eden Valley-Watkins 76, Holdingford 46
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 70, Kimball Area 47
Paynesville Area 95, Maple Lake 23
Area boys' basketball scores on January 19:
Dassel-Cokato 65, New London-Spicer 60
Central MN Christian 77, Canby 74
K-M-S 56, Minneota 43
Mountain Iron-Buhl 65, Cherry 72
Henning 89, Bertha-Hewitt 39
West Central Area 56, Sauk Centre 50
T-M-B 64, MACCRAY 61
Barnesville 79, Minnewaska Area 38
Border West 80, Rothsay 44
Battle Lake 62, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 60
Nevis 65, Cass Lake-Bena 58 (CL-B's first loss of the year after an 11-0 start)
Cromwell-Wright 53, Braham 42
Hancock 72, Brandon-Evansville 66
Parkers Prairie 64, Ashby 38
Pierz 65, Upsala 49
Area girls' basketball scores on January 19:
Maple Lake 46, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 33
Benson 42, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 38
Royalton 59, Eden Valley-Watkins 55 (Central MN Conference game held at Eden Valley)
Parkers Prairie 51, LP-GE 16
Browerville 51, Swanville 38
Osakis 53, Upsala 43
Braham 66, East Central 27
Sauk Centre 60, Melrose Area 28
Menahga 58, Pine River-Backus 40
The home dance competition with 7 total teams will start at 6 p.m. tonight. The National Anthem will be performed at 5:55 p.m. The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team is excited to see you come out and support them!!
**Here's the JV jazz squad performing at A-C-GC high school this past Saturday:
Updates to follow in a new blog post! Hit refresh!
Back in the saddle in the home office...what an exciting night right here in Jaguar Country!! This is fun! SO proud of our B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team!! Their JV and varsity jazz squads had an outstanding night. SO COOL!!!! Love it. They work hard, and the hard work pays off!!!
Video is uploading. More to come in a new blog post.
On Monday in Belgrade, Tiyana Schwinghammer speeds out of the backcourt while chased by two Upsala defenders during the first half of her team's 76-39 section win over the Cardinals.
Each year students can be nominated from high schools across Minnesota for the prestigious Triple-A award, which is sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League. The Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award, commonly known as the Triple 'A' Award, honors high school seniors throughout the state who have a 3.0 or higher-grade point average and who participate in League-sponsored athletic and fine arts activities.
B-B-E Class of 2022 members Nate Walstrom and Paige Prentice were our high school's male and female nominees a year ago. This year it is exciting to announce that Class of 2023 member Tiyana Schwinghammer is B-B-E's nominee. Schwinghammer, a three-sport student-athlete also heavily involved in our Fine Arts program while carrying an ambitious academic course load, will attend the District 20 banquet tonight in Paynesville with other area Triple-A nominees. The winners of the District 20 Triple-A awards (male and female) will be announced at the banquet.
Her list of activities is too lengthy to properly list right now. That complete list is being compiled!
Last July, Schwinghammer was crowned part of the Miss Brooten royalty which has added an extra layer of "busy" to her already busy schedule. Leading by example, Schwinghammer has shown great dedication to her royalty peers while traveling to events near and far representing the community of Brooten.
On the basketball team this winter, she is one of five talented seniors leading a 10-2 squad gunning for regular season and playoff hardware. Schwinghammer, a 6'0" forward, is averaging 14 points per game with 16.8 points per game in the last four contests. In her last two games, she has shot 62 percent from the floor while collecting 18 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 blocked shots. In addition, she is one of five seniors on the B-B-E Resistance Robotics teams that is gearing up for TWO regional contests in March.
In the fall, Schwinghammer was part of a 12-8 No. 1 doubles pair with our girls' tennis team. In the spring, she competes in numerous track and field events and has been on the varsity track and field team since her eighth-grade season. That's just the beginning of a long list of her activities that includes leadership positions with the high school's band AND choir. I also can't forget to mention her willingness to join my newspaper as a photographer last fall, which has provided The Voice with much needed help this year. Major props to her for the terrific example she has set for younger students at B-B-E!! We are all rooting for you tonight!
Blogging will resume again tonight after 8 p.m. when I'll add video here.
**Here's a very exciting video clip featuring last night's comeback for our girls' basketball team at Paynesville:
I had thought about clipping out footage of video to post here with Schwinghammer shining on the basketball court in recent games, but knowing her as well as I do, I know that she would MUCH prefer I post video highlighting her team and not just her. So in this video, it is terribly exciting to see the Jaguars dig in and claw back from what had been a 42-37 deficit under the 10-minute mark last night in Paynesville. I do have to point out Schwinghammer's tough shot made at around the 1:50 mark when she sank a floater in the lane to make the score Paynesville 45, B-B-E 44. By about the 2:20 mark in the video, Bree Thieschafer made a breakaway, one-on-one layup to put the Jaguars in front 46-45. Exciting!!! At the 4:18 mark on the video, Schwinghammer squared up on the right wing and nailed a three-pointer on Thieschafer's assist.
**BREAKING NEWS! this blog post is a good spot to add this...tonight I just caught the latest Minnesota Basketball News state rankings that were released today. Our girls' basketball team has climbed back into the Top 10 after falling to No. 16 two weeks ago. The newest state rankings have them at No. 8 in Class 1A. Meanwhile, conference-leading Holdingford has risen to No. 12 in Class 2A.
WELL! How much can I pack into this blog post focused on our Triple-A nominee? I had to add this...I just stumbled onto this off of a Twitter feed from Coach Bob Starkey, an assistant women's basketball coach at Louisiana State University. Too good not to share. This goes into what I've been harping on for the past few weeks...how older kids leave examples for younger kids, which is the natural order of how any youth organization works from a school system down to a youth sports team.
There's a wide-eyed little person
Who believes you're always right;
And their ears are always open,
As they watch you day and night.
You are setting an example
Every day in all you do;
For the little one who's waiting
To grow up to be just like you.
THANK YOU to B-B-E Class of 2009 graduate Dani Davis, owner of Coop's Corner, for sponsoring this Jaguar Sports blog post!
I've got results on two varsity events tonight...and waiting on a third.
At the Osakis triangular, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned a big 54-21 win over the host Silverstreaks. I'm waiting on results of their Eden Valley-Watkins dual. Both opponents are in Section 5A, so they are both BIG events! UPDATE: the Jaguars also defeated EV-W, and the score of that dual was 52-16.
At Paynesville for a big conference border battle, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team jumped out to a big 13-4 lead through the first 6 minutes of the game. The Bulldogs clawed their way back and gained a 30-28 lead at the 1:20 mark when sophomore Kylie Pauls banked a three-pointer from the right wing. They expanded that to 31-28 on a free throw by Grace Roberg. Abby Berge's slice to the basket with 5 seconds to go set up a one-point deficit for the Jaguars at halftime at 31-30. Paynesville Area had trailed 25-16 with 5:24 to go before making their comeback.
The Jaguars played through adversity in the early stages of the second half against a Bulldogs team that found its outside range and held a 42-37 lead with 9:40 left. Just 15 seconds later, Bree Thieschafer knocked down a three on the left wing. With 9:12 left, Thieschafer stole the ball on the press and drove in for a layup to tie it at 42-42.
*Here's a video featuring the first 6 minutes of tonight's game:
The Bulldogs scored on a rebound shot and then later made one free throw with 8:32 left to go up 45-42. The rebound bucket, which came at the 8:50 mark, would be their second-to-last field goal made in the game. B-B-E's pressure defense held the Bulldogs without a field goal for a seven-and-a-half minute stretch of the game. Paynesville finally got their last field goal of the game with 1:13 left, but by that point the Jaguars had a 55-48 lead. Final score:B-B-E 56, Paynesville Area 48. Mark it down as eight wins in a row for our girls! Two key statistics in the game that stood out from my view: eight offensive rebounds for Berge and eight defensive rebounds for Tiyana Schwinghammer.
Leading the way in the scoring column was Schwinghammer, who shot at a 57-percent clip from the field with two made three-pointers and a total of 19 points with 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Also in double figures in a tough, physical game were Abby Berge and Harley Roering with 10 points each. Berge had another double-double with 13 rebounds, and Roering made five crucial free throws on six attempts at the line.
The Bulldogs suffered their second loss in two nights, and they are now 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the CMC. They had won 6 straight games after starting the season 0-4. The next game will be a difficult one for them, as they head to Holdingford on Friday.
NEXT: the Jaguars (10-2, 5-1) have two much-needed days of back-to-back practices while a very tough game looms on the horizon. On Friday this week, the Jaguars put their winning streak on the line with a road trip down Highway 55 to Kimball Area. The Cubs were in Royalton tonight for another important conference game. CMC-leading Holdingford played Maple Lake, and the odds were in their favor of moving to 5-0 in the league.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 17:
Eden Valley-Watkins 62, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40
Holdingford 67, Maple Lake 37
Kimball Area 51, Royalton 45 (after losing three straight, the Cubs have now won three in a row)
Area girls' basketball scores on January 17:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 68, Yellow Medicine East 48
Lac qui Parle Valley 55, Minneota 44
Braham 71, Rush City 52
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 77, Sleepy Eye 68
Litchfield 66, Dassel-Cokato 47
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 65, Rothsay 55
Mountain Iron-Buhl 65, Pierz 24
Parkers Prairie 57, Ashby 19
Nevis 58, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 35
Aitkin 58, East Central 38
MACCRAY 50, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 40
Wadena-Deer Creek 50, Sebeka 37
Henning 65, Bertha-Hewitt 43
Minnewaska Area 53, Barnesville 51
Breckenridge 61, West Central Area 42
Sauk Centre 63, Osakis 29
Hancock 61, Brandon-Evansville 38
Pine River-Backus 90, Laporte 19
Alexandria 62, Detroit Lakes 42
Upsala 55, Browerville 49
Area boys' basketball scores on January 17:
Staples-Motley 64, Royalton 47
Paynesville Area 77, Yellow Medicine East 36
Annandale 55, New London-Spicer 45
Benson 74, Maple Lake 48
Parkers Prairie 80, Rothsay 74
Browerville 85, Swanville 56
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 92, Underwood 60
Osakis 72, Upsala 46
Albany 107, Pierz 54
Henning 81, Pillager 36
Ashby 63, Brandon-Evansville 57
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 56, Eden Valley-Watkins 53
Montevideo 60, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 59
Battle Lake 77, Park Christian 50
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 57, Central MN Christian 41
More to come. Video will be uploading shortly (DONE). A new camera (a Canon) that I've been settling in on has been working marvelously! I am waiting for lenses to come in on a different camera (a Nikon) so I can take that for a spin on game night. On a somber note, today/tonight marks 18 years since my dad was killed by a 2,000-pound Holstein dairy bull on our family farm. The date of January 17, 2005 forever changed my life. Losing him created a heavy weight in my life that I will always have to work to overcome. He is still deeply missed.
For the fourth school day in a row, our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has GAME NIGHT! That is just crazy. Yes, it's game night again, and our Jaguars are in Paynesville as I type this for a border battle and Central Minnesota Conference clash. ALSO tonight! Our No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is in action at the Osakis triangular. I have help from Osakis who can provide updates tonight. Stay tuned to this blog post for more.
Here's the end of last night's boys' basketball game:
*Here's Brett DeRoo in action at 145 pounds during his first match of the Paynesville tournament last Friday:
DeRoo, a sophomore, ultimately took third place in his bracket.
More to come. Time to pack up and hit the road for Paynesville. UPDATES to follow after 7 p.m.!!
**Update: tonight's game will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood.
**After Brooklyn Fischer cashed two free throws, the Jaguars had a 6-2 lead with just over 2 minutes played. Later a three by Tiyana Schwinghammer gave the Jaguars an 11 to 2 lead.
**Update: the Bulldogs just went one of two at the line and now trail 13 to 7 with 10 minutes and 40 seconds to go in the first half.
**With 2:35 left in the first half, the Jaguars are ahead 28 to 22. Halftime: Paynesville 31, B-B-E 30.
*MORE to come in a new blog post, including updates on wrestling!
One additional video was posted here on Tuesday, plus the area scoreboard...the video is from the Royalton game last week featuring the closing stretch.
We had another hugely successful night in Jaguar Country tonight as we collected varsity wins for both basketball teams.
After jumping out to a 53-19 halftime lead, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team won by a final score of 76-39 over Upsala. B-B-E's press was in command from start to finish as they earned a valuable Section 5A win. Tiyana Schwinghammer led the Jaguars with 22 points on red-hot 10-of-15 field goal shooting while hauling down 8 rebounds and grabbing 6 steals. Abby Berge and Harley Roering were also in double figures with 21 and 16 points, respectively. As a team, the Jaguars shot 44 percent from the floor and made 13 of 16 free throws.
**Here's a video clip from the middle of the first half tonight starting with 8:58 on the clock:
NEXT: the Jaguar girls (9-2) travel the short trip to the southeast on Highway 55 as they resume their border battle rivalry with Paynesville Area tomorrow night. No rest for the wicked, as they say! The Bulldogs (6-4, 3-1) hosted Royalton tonight with a five-game winning streak on the line. They are a half-game behind our Jaguars in the Central Minnesota Conference standings.
In a border battle on their home floor, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team survived a tough battle with Minnewaska Area. After the Lakers whittled down a 14-point deficit to 8 points later in the second half, the Jaguars made key shots down the stretch in a 72-64 win. The No. 10-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Jaguars were led by Kaden Pieper's 30 points and 20 by Luke Dingmann. Next was Luke Illies, who had a fine game with 8 points, 2 assists and 3 rebounds.
After holding a 39-29 halftime lead, the Jaguars pushed that to 14 and 16 points. With 6:37 left, the lead stood at 63-53. The Lakers cut that to 63-55 with 6:25 left. A layup by Kaden Pieper and two free throws from Luke Illies pushed that to 67-55 with 5 minutes to go.
The Lakers, who fall to 1-12 overall, had a balanced attack with four players scoring between 12 and 14 points. Minnewaska Area has played other teams tough this season. On December 16, the Lakers lost to visiting New London-Spicer 65-54.
**Here's high-definition video recorded near the middle of the second half:
NEXT: now with five straight wins, the Jaguars (8-2) travel to Royalton on Thursday this week to resume Central Minnesota Conference play. The Royals are 4-5 overall and 2-1 in the CMC; they hosted Upsala tonight.
Also in action tomorrow night are our B-B-E Jaguars wrestlers, who travel to Osakis for a triangular. Also at Osakis will be Eden Valley-Watkins, so that dual will count in the CMC team standings.
**Here's a four-minute long video in HD quality from Royalton last week:
The Jaguars put on a clinic in that closing stretch against Royalton. Over the last 5 minutes, they outscored the Royals 18-4 and limited them to zero points in the last 2 minutes. It was a sight to take in!!
More to come. I still have to circle back to dance video, which was collected at A-C-GC high school on a crazy Saturday.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball score on January 16:
Royalton 49, Paynesville Area 41 (Royals junior Kylie Waytashek had 15 points and surpassed 1,000 career points in the game; she now has 1,013 points)
Area girls' basketball scores on January 16:
New London-Spicer 69, Minnewaska Area 33
Litchfield 55, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 39
A-C-GC 53, MACCRAY 42
Marshall Area 57, Montevideo 55
Area boys' basketball scores on January 16:
Holdingford 69, Swanville 63
Paynesville Area 47, Melrose Area 44
Royalton 72, Upsala 36
Border West 77, Hancock 55
West Central Area 44, Brandon-Evansville 44
Lakeview 76, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 39
Benson 69, Ortonville 58
Dawson-Boyd 105, Renville County West 33
It is game night in Jaguar Country with TWO home contests underway. I will get updates posted a few times here.
*With 14:28 left in the first half, the Jaguar girls have a 12 to 0 lead over Upsala. **Later the girls have a 38-10 with 6 minutes to go. Our press is unbelievably good tonight!!
**In the boys' basketball game, the Jaguars are ahead 29-26 with 3:11 left.
Over this weekend, the news was released that B-B-E's Abby Berge has signed with Minnesota State University-Moorhead to continue her prolific basketball career. Berge, a member of the B-B-E Class of 2023, is one of five seniors on this year's girls' basketball team gunning for a return trip to the state tournament after they fell in the Section 5A semifinals last year.
At MSU-Moorhead, Berge will rejoin former teammate Allisa Knight, who is in her second year playing for the Dragons. Knight is a 2021 B-B-E graduate. MSU-M is 8-8 overall and 5-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. She is currently averaging 8.6 minutes per game and scoring 2.8 points per game as a sophomore.
*Here's Abby Berge talking about her basketball career on Friday night after she eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in her career as a Jaguar:
Berge and her team host Upsala tonight in a non-conference game in Belgrade. They have not played on their home floor since defeating Kimball Area on January 5.
In other news...
I really buried myself with extra work...to the tune of 823 photos taken on a new camera I have been breaking in. I took these 823 photos between Thursday night's game at Royalton and Sunday's Just For Kix winter dance show in Brooten. I had no idea I got that carried away. The camera is working "very well" and gets about 80 to 90% of what I need it to get done. That figure will go up as I get used to it. Now I have to find time to comb over the 823 photos and see what gets into print. That stretch of time from Thursday to Sunday was about as crazy as it could get. It was absolutely nuts. FUN! Yes! FUN for sure, but NUTS too!
This was a fun, short video clip and I wanted to get it posted as soon as I could...it's now two days later but here's a video from Friday night. The varsity team is shown here as both their fourth grade (Class of 2031) counterparts plus the varsity girls create a "tunnel" for them.
*Pregame drills begin as the boys' basketball team takes the court:
We are continuously building our programs in Jaguar Country. It is a never-ending process that we can never let up on.
TOMORROW in Jaguar Country: in case you missed it, we have yet another night with two home basketball games. This time the teams will play in their respective home gyms. The girls' basketball team hosts Upsala in the high school, while the boys' basketball teams hosts Minnewaska Area in a border battle at the elementary. While the boys' basketball team has just two games this week (they go to Royalton on Thursday)...for our girls' basketball team, this is the second of four straight weeks where they have three games scheduled.
The meat grinder winter season continues.
Breaking news!...coming in the morning, regarding a college commitment from one of our Jaguars!
