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, February 27, 2023
Jaguars beat Chargers
In a non-conference sub-section makeup game at Brandon-Evansville high school on Monday night, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated the Chargers 82-60.
The Jaguars (20-4) have a short turnaround, as they travel to Kimball Area tomorrow (Tuesday) for the final conference game of the season. They host Hancock this Friday to conclude the regular season with Seniors Night.
UPDATE:
In a girls' basketball play-in round game on Monday, Bertha-Hewitt defeated Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 69-43 to advance in the Sub-Section 5A-West tournament. The Bears are 8-19 overall and travel to our house to face the Jaguars on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Belgrade.
The Sub-Section 5A-West playoff seedings are in, and the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has earned the No. 1 seed out of 10 teams. The Jaguars are 21-4 overall to lead the pack that also includes state-ranked Nevis (23-3 overall) as the No. 2 seed. Nevis is also the defending sub-section champion. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley is the No. 3 seed with a 19-7 overall record. Pine River-Backus is 12-14 overall and the No. 4 seed. The Jaguars begin the playoffs at home on Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m. against either Bertha-Hewitt or Long Prairie-Grey Eagle.
*Here's action from Eden Valley yesterday later in the first half:
We have a super busy week ahead of us! I haven't heard when the wrestling team leaves for St. Paul, but once I know about the pep fest and other information, I will get that posted right away. Go outside today and enjoy the nice day we are having! *UPDATE: I see that pep fest activity is coming on Wednesday. Details to come.
So much winning! Wrestlers send SIX to state! (VIDEOS)
On Sunday afternoon a basketball video was added here, and an area scoreboard for Friday and Saturday...this blog post is now a wrap.
Today was an incredibly winning day. Where to begin?
I have to start with our B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team, who had an outstanding day at the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament at Minnewaska Area high school. Just how outstanding were they? Get a load of this! Out of 14 Jaguars who competed, 13 placed sixth or better! Of those 13 placewinners, eight took third place or better! Of those eight, six took first or second place and will advance to the Class 1A state individual tournament!
Taking third place were Tanner Viessman at 145 and Harley Weber at 285. The six advancing to the state individual tournament are Ryan Jensen (132), Wyatt Engen (138), Hunter Laage (160), Maximus Hanson (170), Carson Gilbert (182) and Ethan Spanier (220). The state individual tournament is on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
*Here's Tanner Viessman in action at 145 pounds today:
Here's Maximus Hanson in the 170-pound championship match:
At Eden Valley-Watkins today to conclude their regular season, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team defeated Eden Valley-Watkins 61-57 to finish 11-3 (second place) in the Central Minnesota Conference. The Jaguars shot 47 percent in the first half while building a 32-26 halftime lead. They shot 29 percent in the second half but made 11 of 14 free throws to pull out the close win. Brooklyn Fischer led the way with 19 points, and Tiyana Schwinghammer followed with 16 points. They both combined to go 13-of-14 at the free throw line.
**Here's a video from the middle of the first half at Eden Valley; it begins with Abby Berge making a free throw to give B-B-E a 14-4 lead:
The girls' basketball team takes a 21-4 record into the playoffs. This ties the most wins in a regular season in school history. They went 21-5 before the playoffs in the 2018-2019 season. The next game is on Thursday, March 2 at home (Belgrade) in the Sub-Section 5A-West quarterfinals at 7 p.m.
At home in a Central Minnesota Conference game this afternoon, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Royalton 71-51. Their next game is on Monday at Brandon-Evansville in Brandon. The boys' basketball team is now 19-4 overall with an 11-2 record in the CMC. Eden Valley-Watkins leads the CMC with an 12-1 record.
More to come. Video is uploading. A first video was posted shortly after 20:00 tonight...and a second video was added a little after that.
At the junior high Central Minnesota Conference tournament today in Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars Class of 2028 seventh grade boys' basketball team went 3-0 to claim the team title! This is awesome news! The Gary Rodgers-coached team defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 37-27 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, the Jaguars beat Eden Valley-Watkins 49-43. In the CMC championship game, the Jaguars breezed past Kimball Area 61-34. I dare say that the house that Coach Montbriand and company built is still standing in excellent shape!!! Hard work continues to pay off.
Finally, at New London-Spicer in a round-robin style tournament, the B-B-E Jaguars Class of 2029 sixth grade girls' basketball team went 2-1 and finished in second place. They beat Kimball Area in their opener before falling to Sartell 35-26 in their second game. In the final game that would determine how they placed, the Jaguars crushed New London-Spicer 22-12.
As I said: so much winning!!! It's what we do in Jaguar Country!!
Area girls' basketball scores on Friday, February 24:
Bertha-Hewitt 58, Upsala 54
Hancock 85, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 73
Barnum 70, Silver Bay 25
Cedar Mountain 59, Renville County West 45
Melrose Area 45, Brandon-Evansville 42
Nevis 60, Pine River-Backus 41
Swanville 69, Ogilvie 68
Ely 69, South Ridge 52
Sebeka 48, Browerville 47
Sauk Centre 52, Menahga 40
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on Friday, February 24:
Holdingford 58, Maple Lake 23
Area girls' basketball scores on Saturday, February 25:
Lac qui Parle Valley 54, Dawson-Boyd 20
Mountain Iron-Buhl 58, Mayer Lutheran 46
Nevis 62, Lake of the Woods 30
Braham 48, Barnum 44
Royalton 54, St. Cloud Cathedral 29
Minneota 49, Canby 38
Sauk Centre 64, Wadena-Deer Creek 46
MACCRAY 45, Wabasso 33
Henning 73, Parkers Prairie 45
Holdingford 89, Ogilvie 64 Area boys' basketball scores on Friday, February 24:
Wabasso 75, Renville County West 73
Browerville 57, Upsala 36
Osakis 85, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 63
Hancock 85, Ortonville 67
Henning 79, Underwood 44
West Central Area 74, BOLD 44
Henning 79, Underwood 44
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on Friday, February 24:
Eden Valley-Watkins 74, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53
Holdingford 83, Maple Lake 23
Royalton 72, Kimball Area 55
After 16:00 today I have been updating the end of this blog post with wrestling updates at Minnewaska Area...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has six wrestlers who have earned spots in their respective Championship matches. This is very exciting news! Action continues all afternoon at Minnewaska Area High School. I am on the road battling technical issues but hope to get this updated shortly.
Competing after 3 p.m. in their championship matches are Ryan Jensen (132), Wyatt Engen (138), Hunter Laage (160), Maximus Hanson (170), Carson Gilbert (182) and Ethan Spanier (220). Laage earned one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament when he defeated a Fier from Minneota in the semifinals by a 4-2 decision. Fier was the No. 2 seed in the bracket.
At heavyweight, Harley Weber (just a sophomore) nearly upset Hudson Scholten, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, before losing a tough 3-1 decision. He earned a pin (2:45) in his quarterfinal match to open his tournament. Weber and numerous other Jaguars will compete in the wrestlebacks that should all get rolling before 2 p.m.
More to come after 3 p.m. The girls' basketball team will tip off at about 2:13 p.m. at Eden Valley-Watkins in their varsity game. The JV team won their game against the Eagles, but the C-squad lost. First half update: with just under 12 minutes to go, the Jaguars hold a 9-0 lead at EV-W. The finals at wrestling should get going by about 3:15 p.m.!!!! More to come after 4 p.m.
**HALFTIME at EV-W: B-B-E 32, EV-W 26. FINAL:B-B-E 61, EV-W 57. The Jaguars take a 21-4 record into the postseason! They host a sub-section game on Thursday, March 2 with a 7 p.m. tipoff against an opponent to-be-determined.
By bracket...here are some updates... At 106: Aiden Mueller will go for fifth place. At 113: Noah Welte will go for fifth place. At 120: Louie Tensen will go for third place. He earned a pin in his consolation round match! At 132: Ryan Jensen will go for first place. At 138: Wyatt Engen will go for first place. At 145: Tanner Viessman won by fall in his final wrestleback match; he will go for third place. At 152: Ethan Mueller will go for third place; he won a 13-10 decision in his last wrestleback match. At 160: Hunter Laage will go for first place. At 170: Maximus Hanson will go for first place. At 182: Carson Gilbert will go for first 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 pounds, Aiden Mueller finished in sixth place after losing a 10-5 decision in the fifth-place match.
At 113 pounds, Noah Welte lost a 13-5 major decision in the fifth-place match. He has had an outstanding season as a first-year varsity wrestler and takes a 19-28 overall record into the team state tournament.
At 120 pounds, Louie Tensen lost a 7-2 decision in the third-place match.
At 132 pounds, Ryan Jensen pinned (1:39) in his championship match for a state berth.
At 138 pounds, Wyatt Engen won a thriller by a 4-3 decision in his championship match to seal a state bid!
At 145 pounds, Tanner Viessman won a 6-4 decision in the finals to take third place.
At 152 pounds, Ethan Mueller lost by fall in his third-place match.
At 160 pounds, Hunter Laage lost a 17-0 tech fall to top-seeded Jevon Williams (35-3) of ACGC in the championship match; Laage has earned a state trip as there is no need for a true second match in his weight bracket.
At 170 pounds, Maximus Hanson won a 15-0 tech fall in his championship to seal his trip to state!
At 182 pounds, Carson Gilbert lost a tough 5-1 decision to Paynesville's Peyton Hemmesch in his championship. Gilbert does not need a true second match; he is off to state!
At 195 pounds, Talen Kampsen won by fall (1:50) in the fifth-place match. He had a terrific ending to the individual portion of his wrestling career and takes a 25-23 record into the team state tournament next week.
At 220 pounds, Ethan Spanier trails 5-1 going into the third period of his championship match to A-C-GC's Terrell Renne. Final: Renne 7, Spanier 2.
At 285 pounds, Harley Weber won by fall (0:52) in the third-place match. He does not get a shot at a true second match, however, and his sophomore season record is 29-18 going into the team state tournament.
The Class 1A individual state tournament will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, at Xcel Energy Center. The state opener matches start after 9 a.m. on Friday.
That's all I've got now...I'll catch up with boys' basketball later tonight. As of 19:00 tonight, this blog post is a wrap. A new blog post is going up tonight with more updates as well as basketball and wrestling video.
In home and away varsity action, the B-B-E basketball teams both won tonight. In a non-conference game at Osakis, the No. 10-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team defeated the Silverstreaks 78-41 in a well-played game from start to finish. The Jaguars are 20-4 going into their road conference game at Eden Valley-Watkins tomorrow.
A total of 9 players scored for the Jaguars, who were led by Abby Berge's 26 points, 6 rebounds and 8 steals. Tiyana Schwinghammer poured in 21 points with 9-of-11 shooting inside the arc. From the floor as a team, the Jaguars shot 58 percent to go with 16-of-21 free throw shooting.
Osakis finishes the regular season 11-13 overall. They emerged as Prairie Conference champions this season with a 7-1 record ahead of runner-up Upsala (6-2). The Silverstreaks will compete in Section 6AA for the playoffs. Their defensive average was battered tonight: coming into the game, they gave up just 42.8 points per game. Previously, the most points they gave up was 63 points in a 63-29 loss at Sauk Centre on January 17.
At home against neighboring rival and No. 17-ranked Paynesville Area, the No. 11-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball teamwon 59-40. The game was a battle in the beginning, and with almost 10 minutes elapsed, the Jaguars were ahead just 14-6. With under a minute to go in the first half, the Jaguars were ahead 32-22 and had possession, but a late turnover was converted into a layup with a foul. Instead of potentially falling behind 34-22 at halftime, the Bulldogs had a shot at closing it to a seven-point game. They missed the and-one free throw to make it a 32-24 lead for B-B-E.
BOTH teams have very short turnarounds with big conference games coming tomorrow afternoon!!! Life in the fast lane!! For the fans staying in Brooten: the boys' basketball JV and C-squad games starts at 2:15 p.m., and the varsity game will follow that. For girls' basketball fans, the JV and C-squad games at Eden Valley-Watkins begin at 12:30 p.m. at their high school. The varsity game should get going by approximately 1:45 p.m.
For B-B-E Jaguars wrestling fans, the Section 5A individual tournament starts at 10 a.m. at Minnewaska Area high school tomorrow.
Here's video from the second half at Osakis tonight:
And here's video from the second half against Paynesville tonight:
*Here's video from the 10:30 mark in the second half of the Paynesville game:
More to come. Additional video is uploading, and I still have to get a look at the games' statistics.
In a Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball game tonight, Holdingford defeated Maple Lake 58-23 to improve to 13-0 in the CMC and 21-3 overall. Before the Section 6AA playoffs begin, the Huskers have games with Ogilvie and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.
For our B-B-E girls' basketball team, their record now stands at 20-4 with one game left. This marks the second time in B-B-E history that the girls' basketball team has 20 or more regular season wins. In 2018-2019, the Jaguars went 21-5 in the regular season before losing in the Section 5A championship 46-39 to Menahga with a 24-6 final record. That is a loss I will never forget. It was very, very difficult to swallow after the Jaguars entered the game averaging 58 points per game.
We have home and away action tonight for our basketball teams. We begin with the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team traveling to Osakis, which they have already done, for their final non-conference game of the regular season. The varsity game should get going at about 5:45 p.m..
*Here's the start of pregame drills on Monday night at the high school:
Tonight on their home floor, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosts Paynesville Area in a big border battle in Central Minnesota Conference play. At stake is second place in the CMC standings, with a possible shot at sharing the title with Eden Valley-Watkins depending on how the rest of the regular season plays out. Tonight's game in Brooten is on the regular schedule. It is also Parents Night!
More to come...later. Right now it's time to pack up for Osakis! Then return for the second half of the boys' basketball game.
At Osakis...we tipped off right at about 6 p.m. or a little after. Currently with 10:19 to go, the Jaguars hold a 12-11 lead. *Update in the first half: the Jaguars have throttled up the press and now hold a 21-11 lead with 8:46 to go after Abby Berge made two free throws.
HALFTIME at Osakis: B-B-E 42, Osakis 22. Halftime started at 18:36. Berge leads the Jaguars with 18 points, while Tiyana Schwinghammer has 13. Other scoring: Bree Thieschafer 3, Anna Jaeger 3, Brooklyn Fischer 3, Adley Hagen 2. The second half started at 18:46.
I'll get final scores posted in a NEW blog post...it's now time to head south back to Jaguar Country for the boys game.
At halftime: B-B-E 32, Paynesville Area 24. More to come in a new blog post! Video is uploading. As of 21:52 this blog post has concluded.
Snow Day, Day II...and a mountain of announcements!
And we didn't even get that much snow!
To give you an idea of how it's going later in the morning of Thursday, February 23, the town of Brooten is out of milk, and the bank is closed. B-B-E students are in the midst of an e-Learning day. That is going well at our house by the way...hats off to our teachers!!! I just love our B-B-E teachers. They are fabulous.
And now I have to fix the carburetor on my snowblower with our driveway only about half done. Good times.
SCHEDULING updates:
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team's games that were set for tonight at Eden Valley-Watkins have been moved to Saturday, February 25 (two days from now)...this will conclude their regular season. The JV and C-squad games are at 12:30 p.m., and the varsity game will tip off at approximately 1:45 p.m. ALSO! Their Osakis road game has been moved to tomorrow, Friday, February 24.
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team's game that was set for tonight at Brandon-Evansville has been rescheduled to next Monday, February 27 at the B-E high school in Brandon (C-squad at 5 p.m., JV at 6 p.m. and varsity to follow). Their conference game at home against Royalton, originally scheduled for Tuesday this week, is set for this Saturday (2:15 p.m. for JV and C-squad and varsity to follow).
***STATE tournament tickets for next week's wrestling can be purchased here: https://www.mshsl.org/tickets. Our Jaguars open state at 9 a.m. at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, March 2!!
ANNOUNCEMENT for residents of Brooten:
Regular recycling pick-up will take place as scheduled on Friday, February 24 (tomorrow)...but the garbage pick-up for tomorrow is postponed one day to Saturday due to the weather. Please pass the word!!!
In a nutshell...
All after school activities are cancelled for today at B-B-E schools. This includes any varsity events, of course...the boys' basketball game with Royalton (home) is moved to THIS Saturday, February 25. The girls' basketball game at Osakis that was to be held tonight is also postponed, although I do not have official word yet on that...and it is likely that the game will not be made up. This is all very unfortunate!!!
The snow started to fall in sporadic patterns after 1 p.m. today. It will only get worse...
I just saw that the wrestling team earned the No. 3 seed for the state tournament. This is awesome!!! This is HUGE!!!! They open with unseeded Medford in the quarterfinals on March 2 at Xcel Energy Center at 9 a.m. Right now the newspaper is eating up all my energy...we have to run with just 12 pages this week. I've got 3 pages of wrestling coverage!!
In a meeting with a potential playoff opponent, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosted Pine River-Backus in a non-conference game tonight for Seniors Night. Head coach Kristina Anderson provided a tribute to the seniors prior to the start of pregame drills, and the seniors and their parents were recognized on the court. Three of their youth coaches, Travis Szczesniak, Jesi Halvorson and Tammy Berge, were also honored at that time.
After surging past the Tigers in the first half and leading 40-20 at the break, the Jaguars kept the defensive pressure in peak form while running away with a 73-35 win. The Jaguars shot 56 percent from the floor in the game and went 12-of-16 at the free throw line. Abby Berge led the way with 21 points, while Brooklyn Fischer had 19 and Tiyana Schwinghammer had 11.
*Here's video featuring the Seniors Night presentation:
Now 19-4 overall, the next game for the Jaguars is likely up in the air as of now. The weather forecast looks tough for the next three days. This is a tough turn of events.
Video is uploading. **THis blog post is cut off and now a wrap...more in a new blog post. I type this on Tuesday morning and have to prepare for what looks like a 3-day long snow storm. Yikes!!!
Tonight is senior night for the girls' basketball team! Our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts Pine River-Backus in a big Section 5A contest. The five senior players and the student manager will be honored before the pregame drills begin.
In the JV game tonight, the Jaguars won 47-31.
Early in the game, the Jaguars have a 12-7 lead with 13:56 to go...Halftime: B-B-E 40, PR-B 20.
Updates to follow...in a new blog post. Tonight's weather has been flat out crazy.
Wrestling THREE-PEAT puts Jaguars back at STATE! (VIDEOS)
History was made today at Benson high school! This was FUN!
After back-to-back wins in rock 'em, sock 'em, take-no-prisoner fashion, the No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has advanced to the state tournament for the third straight year while claiming the Section 5A championship. In today's semifinal round, the Jaguars pulled away from Canby in the upper weights for a 40-19 win. In the championship, the Jaguars overcame a right hook, a left hook and everything inbetween from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a 38-25 state-qualifying win. The Fighting Saints initially held a 16-0 lead through the first three weights. The momentum shifted quickly and almost on a dime when Louie Tensen earned a pin at 126 pounds that electrified the Jaguar faithful.
Overall, in school history, the Jaguars have wrestled in section championship matches in 1997, 1998, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023. After losing in five section finals across 23 years, they are now 3-0 in the last three tries for state!
Recent history...in 2015, the Jaguars lost to A-C-GC in the section finals. In 2017, the Jaguars fell to K-M-S in the section finals. In 2020, the Jaguars lost to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the section finals. In that Section 5A championship loss, the Wolves won by a 33-18 score on their way to the state championship match two weeks later, where they defeated A-C-GC 30-27 to forge a 34-3 final record. The Jaguars finished 20-4.
Below is a video featuring the end of the 152-pound match against K-M-S:
*Here's Hunter Laage battling at 160 pounds today against K-M-S:
**Here's video from the end of Carson Gilbert's match at 182 pounds and then footage from Talen Kampsen's 195-pound match against K-M-S:
EVERY win today in that K-M-S match was HUGE! It's hard to single out any one specific match in terms of how important it was. I can state with a high level of confidence that Carson Gilbert's pin at 182 pounds was a game changer. It clearly shifted momentum towards the Jaguars and gave them a 28-22 lead on the scoreboard. THAT was FUN!
That was a fantastic wrestling playoff atmosphere at Benson high school! As good as it gets at the high school level. This blog post will be put on pause tonight. It has been a long-a** day that started before 6 a.m. with an early-morning trip to Holdingford for youth basketball...then my Buick "took flight" for Benson high school and got me there just in time to see the 106-pound match before it ended against K-M-S. More to come before I have church tomorrow. I've been jacked up on adrenaline all day and into this evening, and that is about to wear off.
DON'T forget! The Belgrade Lions Pancake Feast (for all ages) is tomorrow at the B-B-E high school from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This was boldly advertised on page one of the February 9 and February 16 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
The Jaguars (19-5) will compete in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament on Thursday, March 2 at Xcel Energy Center. Before that! They have a huge day of action next Saturday, February 25, when they compete in the Section 5A individual tournament at Minnewaska Area.
In Section 6A, West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville defeated Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie 48-28 in the finals to advance to state.
In Section 7A, Royalton-Upsala put the hammer down and ended the seasons of both Holdingford and LP-GE/Browerville today. In the semis against the Huskers, the Royals won 40-31. Then in the finals against the Wolves, the Royals won 39-22. Down in Section 3A, defending state champion Jackson County Central advanced to state and has won 10 duals in a row. B-B-E has 11 straight wins to their credit.
Today is the big day for the Section 5A Final Four at Benson high school!
The No. 3-seeded B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team (18-5) takes on No. 2-seeded Canby (16-5) at 12:30 p.m. in the semifinals. The Jaguars have revenge on their minds after they lost 37-27 to the Lancers on January 27 at the Minneota Quad.
More to come after 1 p.m.!
**Through 126, the Jaguars trail 10 to 9. At 120, Louie Tensen won by fall, sending the Jaguar fans into a frenzy.
Currently the Jaguars are ahead 16 to 13.
**Through 170, the Jaguars have a 22 to 19 lead. At 182, Carson Gilbert is ahead 5-2 in the second period.
*****Final score: B-B-E 40, Canby 19!!! In the other semifinal, KMS won 31--29 over Minneota.
**Against KMS, the Jaguars trail 16-12 through 132 pounds.
*After 145, the Jaguars are ahead 18-16 after Wyatt Engen won a 5-2 decision.
*Through 160, the Jaguars are trailing 22 to 18.
**The Jaguars are state-bound!! It's 33-25 after 220!! Ethan Spanier with a pin!!
Final: BBE 36, KMS 25. The Jaguars will wrestle at the state tournament on Thursday, March 2.
Now we set our sights on the individual section wrestling which is next Saturday, February 25 at Minnewaska High School.
****I will not be updating this blog until after 9:00 p.m. tonight as I drove from Benson back to Holdingford for the second time of the day for youth basketball. I got some pretty exciting wrestling footage at Benson, so I'm excited to post that later tonight!! GO JAGS!!
On the road in a sub-section matchup with Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, the No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball teamsaw their seven-game winning streak snapped with a fleet-footed Fighting Saints coming out on top 74-71. A late three-pointer by Luke Illies drew the Jaguars within one at a 72-71 deficit in the final seconds.
K-M-S improves to 18-5 overall with their fifth straight win, while the Jaguars fall to 17-4.
On the home floor for Parents Night, the No. 12-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team rebounded from Tuesday's tough loss to Royalton by defeating Paynesville Area 47-35 in Central Minnesota Conference action. At halftime, the Bulldogs led 22-18. B-B-E had trailed 15-3 with 9:30 to go before halftime, and they eventually tied the game with 11:52 left in the second half on two Brooklyn Fischer free throws. Paynesville's final lead of the game came with 11:40 left on two Katie Uhlenkamp free throws for a 30-28 advantage.
*Here's a short video clip from the first half tonight:
Sidebar: in the JV girls' basketball game, the Bulldogs and Jaguars battled through two overtime periods! It was crazy. The six minutes of overtime action lasted over 20 minutes. Unreal. Paynesville took a 37-33 lead in the final minute of the second overtime period with two bonus free throws. Then with 47 seconds left, Ava Deters squared up on the left wing and buried a three-pointer! Then with about 19 seconds left, Grace Jackson stole the ball near midcourt, sped down court and hit a close-range shot off the glass for a 38-37 lead with 15 seconds to go. Final score: B-B-E 39, Paynesville 37 in 2 OT!
The girls' basketball Jaguars shot a season-low 25 percent from the floor but went a solid 78 percent (15-of-19) at the charity stripe.
UP next: the girls' basketball team hosts Pine River-Backus for a section contest on Monday, February 20 for Seniors Night.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 17:
Kimball Area 50, Royalton 47
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 42
Area girls' basketball scores on February 17:
Upsala 56, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 24
New London-Spicer 57, Glencoe-Silver Lake 33
Pierz 36, Little Falls 34
No. 15 Kelliher/Northome 62, No. 7 Nevis 56
Annandale 54, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 26
Watertown-Mayer 54, Litchfield 35
Parkers Prairie 47, Browerville 43
Sauk Centre 58, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 34
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 74, Hinckley-Finlayson 32
Mayer Lutheran 61, Minneota 43
South Ridge 58, East Central 28
Park Rapids Area 61, Pine River-Backus 39
New York Mills 58, Verndale 42
Henning 67, Bertha-Hewitt 46
Wadena-Deer Creek 62, Sebeka 42
Area boys' basketball scores on February 17:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 67, Annandale 60
Eden Valley-Watkins 72, Paynesville Area 61 (a CMC game, and the Eagles now hold first place alone in the conference)
Melrose Area 60, Montevideo 47
Glencoe-Silver Lake 76, New London-Spicer 59
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 79, Benson 48
Little Falls 59, Pierz 56
Underwood 36, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 31
West Central Area 80, Minnewaska Area 46
Park Christian 73, Brandon-Evansville 47
Cass Lake-Bena 98, Nevis 83
Border West 80, Hancock 57
This is game night again, and we have two big games on deck for our varsity basketball teams. I'll get more posted here during pre-game drills at the girls' basketball game in Belgrade. Paynesville is the opponent for a border battle in the Central Minnesota Conference.
Step I: Jaguar wrestlers start strong in sections (VIDEOS)
With a big pin by 106-pounder Aiden Mueller to kick things off tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team took care of business against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City to win their playoff opener by a 57-24 score. Mueller won by fall at 106, and Welte won a 15-0 tech fall at 113. With the Section 5A quarterfinal success, the Jaguars (18-5 overall) advance to the semifinal round this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Benson. Start planning your carpools now!!!
*Here's the National Anthem tonight:
**You can catch the end of Mueller's match in this video and also watch Noah Welte's complete match at 113 pounds:
The MSHSL website has not updated yet, which is disappointing. I don't see updated scores yet on Minnesota-Scores.Net either. I'm still hunting.
A brief match review:
At 126 pounds, perhaps the most exciting match of the night took place when Louie Tensen won by fall in the second period. This was the outcome after he had trailed by as much as 10-3. Then at 132, Ryan Jensen won by fall. At 145, Wyatt Engen won by fall in the second period to put the Jaguars ahead 29-12. Tanner Viessman won by fall at 152 in the second period. At 170, Maximus Hanson earned a forfeit win. At 182, Carson Gilbert won a 10-2 major decision. At 195, Talen Kampsen won by fall in just 22 seconds! At 220, Ethan Spanier won by fall to put the Jaguars ahead 57-18 going into the heavyweight match.
Upon further review...in the 126-pound match with under 45 seconds to go in the first period and trailing 10-3 on the scoreboard while on his back, Louie Tensen earned a reversal and then earned a pin with just 19 seconds left on the clock.
**Here's a post-dual interview with Ryan Jensen:
In another Section 5A quarterfinal match tonight, the No. 4-seeded Minneota Vikings survived a strong challenge from fifth-seeded Paynesville Area and won by a 32-27 final score. They will likely face top-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in the semifinals on Saturday in Benson.
Found this on Twitter...K-M-S defeated Minnewaska Area 49-18. They will take on Minneota in one of the two 12:30 p.m. semifinal matches on Saturday in Benson.
**And in the other quarterfinal, No. 2-seeded Canby defeated No. 7-seeded Benson by a 56-20 score. They will be the team our Jaguars face in the semifinals on Saturday.
In boys' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated host Maple Lake 85-35 tonight. They led 55-19 at halftime.
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 16:
Kimball Area 66, Holdingford 46
Royalton 71, A-C-GC 49
Area boys' basketball scores on February 16:
New London-Spicer 65, Sauk Centre 56
BOLD 88, Springfield 62
Lake Park-Audubon 71, Underwood 69
Cass Lake-Bena 57, Cherry 52
Osakis 77, Upsala 46
Battle Lake 90, Rothsay 44
Browerville 62, Swanville 40
Albany 75, Melrose Area 47
Henning 89, Parkers Prairie 50
Border West 74, Lac qui Parle Valley 72
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has taken the mat at our high school! They are set to take on Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the Section 5A quarterfinals. The match should start at about 19:03.
Updates to come.
At 106...Aiden Mueller won by fall! And then at 113...Noah Welte won a tech fall to put the Jaguars up 11-0.
**Through 132...the Jaguars have a 23-6 lead on the scoreboard! Through 145 pounds...the Jaguars are ahead 29-12 after Wyatt Engen won by fall early in the second period. He trailed 4-0 in the opening period at one point.
FINAL score: ...in a new blog post!
UPDATE at Minneota...through 145 pounds, the Vikings are ahead 18-14 over Paynesville Area. **As of 22:00, this blog post is a wrap. More to come in a NEW blog post.
Tonight all eyes are on the home mats as our B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is set to host Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the Section 5A quarterfinals. The Jaguars (17-5) are the two-time defending section champions. The match begins at 7 p.m. Spread the word!
The Falcons are the No. 6 seed in the section, while the Jaguars are seeded No. 3. The top seed was earned by neighboring rival Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. Canby is the No. 2 seed.
Here's Wyatt Engen winning at 138 pounds against one of LPGE/Browerville's state-ranked opponents back on February 7:
More to come later this afternoon.
A-C-GC has a 12-15 overall record. Updates in a new blog post!!
In a battle of second and third-place Central Minnesota Conference teams tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team went stone cold from the field against Royalton. After trailing 27-22, the Jaguars came out firing in the second half and at one point held a 34-27 lead. They led 38-33 with 6:25 to go, but the going was tough the rest of the way.
Final: Royalton 44, B-B-E 42.
Here's footage from early in the second half when the Jaguars tied the game at 27-27:
For the game, the Jaguars shot just 31 percent from the field. They went 10-of-15 at the free throw line but were hurt mightily by ice cold 2-for-21 three-point shooting. For both teams, the defenses dictated this game, as both squads put everything they had into shutting down the inside game first and then working to limit outside shots. At the end of the day, Royalton utilized unique motivation while giving a physical and effective performance that avenged their loss from a month ago on their home floor.
Better days ahead.
On the upside: I am immensely proud to have a front row seat to an educational ecosystem where taking the high road is always encouraged. That is always a good way to live. One should never, ever apologize for doing the right thing - even when that's not necessarily what your first instinct is. When faced with difficult situations, choose the high road, and to the greatest extent possible: operate with a cool head, and do not get dragged down into the gutter. These are all great lessons to teach our kids.
Next: the Jaguars have another home CMC game when Paynesville Area (10-12, 5-7) comes to town this Friday, February 17 in a highly-anticipated border battle.
Breaking conference news: Holdingford has clinched the CMC title outright with a hard-fought 63-55 win at Eden Valley tonight.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 14:
Paynesville 47, Maple Lake 35
Kimball Area 60, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48
ALSO! B-B-E schools will open 2 hours late tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15.
*Area girls' basketball scores on February 14:
Yellow Medicine East 55, Benson 30
BOLD 59, Central MN Christian 24
Minnewaska Area 56, Melrose Area 38
Pipestone Area 81, Minneota 62
Montevideo 61, Sauk Centre 36
Pine River-Backus 60, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 58
Henning 59, Verndale 45
MACCRAY 68, Dawson-Boyd 58
This is GAME NIGHT again in Jaguar Country! This is a recurring theme as our girls' basketball team continues a lengthy homestand...tonight our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts Royalton in a conference game. The Royals have revenge on their minds after getting blown off of their home floor in an 84-52 loss at the hands of our Jaguars back on January 12. The Royals (13-9 overall) are currently ranked No. 8 in Section 6AA by the QRF scale.
The Royals are fighting for a hypothetical runner-up finish in the CMC; they are currently in third place alone with a 7-4 mark. The Jaguars are in second place alone at 9-2, while Holdingford leads the pack with an 11-0 mark. The Huskers, winners of seven straight, look to clinch a share of the title for the second straight season with a win at fifth-place Eden Valley-Watkins (9-12, 5-5).
*Here's a video featuring the final minute or so of the K-M-S game:
The action ends around the 2 minute mark in the video. I forgot to shut off the recording as halftime got underway. **This game will be aired on The Train, 106.5 FM!
Updates to follow. UPDATE: the JV girls' basketball team lost 38-35 in overtime. Ouch!
*In the varsity game...with 6:43 left in the first half, the Royals are ahead 17-12. They are currently on a 13-3 run after B-B-E had a 9-4 lead with 13:30 on the clock. B-B-E has since gone stone cold.
HALFTIME: Royalton 27, B-B-E 22.
**In the second half, Tiyana Schwinghammer's 10-footer tied the game with 14:49 left with a score of 27-27.
Later with 3:15 left, Royalton has a 40-38 lead. **Now with 1:15 left, the Royals have a 42-40 lead. B-B-E was within a hair's width of earning a valuable press turnover, but Royalton called a timeout to bail out their trapped player on the far baseline. **Now with just 2 seconds to go, the Royals have a 44-42 lead, and the Jaguars have to go the length of the court to at least tie it up. I will post again later tonight. Tomorrow is printing press day! **22:10 on the clock (military time) and this blog post is a wrap. A new one is coming up.
College signing day...and Sno-Daze coronation! (VIDEOS!)
A special college signing ceremony took place today at B-B-E high school for three student-athlete members of the Class of 2023. Ethan Spanier signed with North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton for football. Abby Berge signed for basketball at MSU-Moorhead. Ava Mueller signed for volleyball at Jamestown College in North Dakota.
**Here's the video:
More to come. This is an especially intense and busy day. The Sno-Daze coronation starts at 10:30 a.m. at Olson Auditorium in the high school.
Here it is! Fresh out of the lenses of the Bonanza Valley Voice cameras. Click on the following link to see who was crowned Sno-Daze queen and king this morning: https://bit.ly/3jXWxFi.
AND! Here's a video below from the coronation program with Class of 2029 students singing a classic Whitney Houston song at Olson Auditorium.
VIDEO:
Now we all keep a watchful eye on the weather and see what happens tonight and into tomorrow...!!
We've got another big week with three of our four winter varsity teams in action up to their necks!
The girls' basketball team has a big game with Royalton tomorrow (Tuesday) in Central Minnesota Conference action.
The boys' basketball team travels to Maple Lake on Thursday for their next game. They look to keep pace with the two teams in first place, Eden Valley-Watkins and Paynesville. Those two teams will meet on Friday this week in a game that will determine if our Jaguars can stay in the hunt for a share of the CMC title. They need the Bulldogs to prevail and knock EV-W to two losses...then the Jaguars have to beat the Bulldogs on February 24 to create a hypothetical three-way tie for first.
*Here's an exciting video recorded later in the Sauk Centre game over two weeks ago on January 27:
That clip starts with the score tied at 50-50, but Brady Schwinghammer hit a momentum-shifting three-pointer right after I hit the record button.
For the wrestling team, they open the Section 5A tournament on Thursday this week at 7 p.m. on the home mats against No. 6-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Jaguars are seeded No. 3 out of 10 teams.
Here's a quick shout out to two of our dozens of locally-owned locally-owned businesses!
Coop's Corner of Belgrade is taking to-go orders and delivering in the town of Belgrade tonight during the Super Bowl game. Give Dani or Sarah a call at 320-254-3204! Also, in Brooten, RJ's Mini-Mart will be cooking tonight through 8 p.m. for to-go orders. Their phone number is 320-346-2424. I will miss out on the Super Bowl. FAR too much work to get done to take time to watch that. This blog post will be updated with video and sports notes tonight.
I saw on the area scoreboard that Eden Valley-Watkins defeated sub-section rival New London-Spicer 55-53 in overtime in boys' basketball action yesterday.
Area boys' basketball scores on Friday, February 10:
Albany 72, Sauk Centre 63
Cass Lake-Bena 60, Ada Borup West 58 (CL-B is 20-1)
New London-Spicer 50, Annandale 37
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 63, Parkers Prairie 47
Border West 67, Battle Lake 64
Brandon-Evansville 64, Underwood 47
Nevis 76, Red Lake 61
Henning 77, New York Mills 34
West Central Area 62, Ashby 30
Upsala 50, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40
Area girls' basketball scores on Friday, February 10:
Mountain Iron-Buhl 75, Braham 35
Eden Valley-Watkins 47, Maple Lake 27 (Central MN Conference game)
Minnewaska Area 71, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 42
Paynesville Area 73, Yellow Medicine East 58
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 61, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 57
Litchfield 44, Rockford 43
Central MN Christian 50, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48
Sauk Centre 51, Royalton 49
Menahga 38, Osakis 28
Montevideo 55, BOLD 50
West Central Area 55, Melrose Area 42
Upsala 64, Verndale 54
Lakeview 67, Dawson-Boyd 61
Henning 58, New York Mills 48
Area boys' basketball scores on February 11:
Border West 89, Breckenridge 62
BOLD 59, New Ulm Cathedral 42
Area girls' basketball scores on Saturday, February 11:
New London-Spicer 62, Sauk Centre 31
Nevis 52, Mahnomen/Waubun 36
Wabasso 52, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 38
Today at Melrose Area high school, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team gave an incredible performance at the Section 2A dance competition. Performing in the jazz category, the varsity team placed ninth in the field and got a big win over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.
*Here's video featuring their full performance today:
As exciting as their performance was, it is also exciting to note that the team graduates just one student-athlete, senior Annika Heieie, and has a very bright future ahead.
Additional coverage is forthcoming in the next newspaper issue. It is too nice of a day to spend more time than necessary on a computer. Great sunshine! And soon I am headed to Heidi's Bar in Sedan for the Glacial Ridge A.B.A.T.E.biker/motorcycle safety group chili feed (3 to 7 p.m.!) Glacial Ridge A.B.A.T.E. chili feed in Sedan
The basketball teams each earned varsity wins tonight on their respective home courts.
In a Central Minnesota Conference game, the No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team faced Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. After building a 40-30 halftime lead, the Jaguars won by a final score of 70-58 for their sixth straight win. Junior Luke Dingmann scored his 1,000th career point late in the first half as the game developed into an all-out track meet. Catch video of that below.
The first half started out as a real grinder. How much of a grinder? To put it into perspective: with 12:55 to go, the Falcons gained a 6-3 lead on a layup by junior guard Kyler Pickle, who finished with a game-high 25 points (5-for-6 three-point shooting). Over those first 5 minutes, all the Jaguars had to their credit offensively was a three-pointer by Brady Schwinghammer with 15:02 on the clock that put the Jaguars in front 3-2. With 11:56 left, Kaden Pieper scored on a transition shot for a 7-6 lead. Pieper's three-pointer with 11:05 left made it a 12-8 lead, and by that point both teams started heating up from the floor as the track meet ensued.
Later in the half, with 3:13 left, Luke Dingmann scored on a drive off of the left wing to reach 1,000 career points. See below.
Here's a video from the first half of the boys' basketball game:
Around the 3:00 mark on the video, Dingmann reaches that lofty mark. He is just a junior! B-B-E has now had juniors surpass 1,000 career points in back-to-back seasons. Current senior Kaden Pieper passed 1,000 points on January 21, 2022 at home against Pine River-Backus.
The Jaguars (16-3, 8-2) had very balanced scoring with 4 players in double figures: Brady Schwinghammer with 21 points (five three-pointers), Kaden Pieper with 18 points, Hayden Sobiech with 14 points and Luke Dingmann with 12 points. Overall, the Jaguars shot 41 percent from the floor with a 16-of-22 mark at the free throw line. They remain one game out of first place in the CMC, as both Paynesville and Eden Valley-Watkins won their games tonight to improve to 9-1 each.
NEXT: the boys' basketball team travels to Maple Lake next Thursday, February 16.
In their home contest tonight, the No. 6-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team defeated Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 59-48 in a border battle for their fifth straight win. The opening stage of the game saw the Fighting Saints hold early one to two-possession leads. With 5:50 to go, Bree Thieschafer made two bonus free throws to lift the Jaguars in front 16-15. At halftime, they held a slim 27-26 lead but came out strong in the second half with Tiyana Schwinghammer scoring just 12 seconds in on a layup. Those final 18 minutes became very physical, and the Jaguars (17-3) withstood a stiff defensive challenge while scoring 19 points above K-M-S's defensive average. They survived a cold shooting night (35 percent on field goals) by making 19 out of 26 free throws.
The Fighting Saints (16-6) are currently the No. 2-ranked team in Sub-Section 6A-South behind state-ranked Hancock.
NEXT: the girls' basketball team hosts Royalton for a CMC battle next Tuesday night. The Royals (12-8, 7-4) defeated A-C-GC 58-56 at Grove City last night.
Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on February 10:
Paynesville Area 73, Kimball Area 52
Holdingford 61, Royalton 58 (Huskers earn their second CMC win of the season and snapped a 5-game losing skid)
Eden Valley-Watkins 68, Maple Lake 32
More to come. Additional video is uploading. I am really hopeful to finally record another sports show! Right now it's time for my final meal of the day. This has been a long, long night.
It's game night again in Jaguar Country, and we've got two home games on deck tonight. BOTH games will be on local radio! At the high school in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts K-M-S in a border battle that will be aired on 107.1 FM of Glenwood. The Fighting Saints are a very talented team and will pose a formidable challenge for our No. 6-ranked team.
*Here's a four-minute clip from Tuesday night in Eden Valley...that was a heck of a game!
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team looks to stay within reach of first-place Eden Valley-Watkins tonight when they host Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in a Central Minnesota Conference game. Their game will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg. Junior Luke Dingmann needs to score 6 points to meet the 1,000-points plateau for his career. This is exciting!! Fun fact: the first B-B-E Jaguar to score 1,000 points was Eric Dingmann, the father of current senior Allie Dingmann...he is a 1996 graduate.
**Here's a video clip that's aging and was not uploaded until today...from January 20 at Kimball:
More to come with updates after 7 p.m.. I've gone back and added a video to the previous blog post, which outlines the upcoming wrestling playoff seedings and opening round schedule.
***Halftime: the boys' basketball team is ahead 40 to 30 over the Falcons. Luke Dingmann scored on a layup with just over 3 minutes to go for his 1,000th career point, that bucket gave the Jaguars a 33 to 24 lead and what turned out to be a track meet over the final 13 minutes. The girls' basketball game won't tip off until about 7:55 p.m..
Halftime No. 2: the girls' basketball team has a 27 to 26 lead over the Fighting Saints.
**With 6 minutes to go, the Jaguars are ahead 46 to 42 over the Fighting Saints. It's been a battle!!!
The girls' basketball team won but I don't have the final score. Time to head home. This blog post is a wrap as of 22:24! A new blog post with video should be up within about 5 minutes...
Section 5A wrestling playoffs: Jaguars seeded No. 3 (VIDEO)
The seedings are in! Here we go! Wrestling playoffs are on the horizon.
Yesterday (Thursday) was the big day that the news was released on the Section 5A playoff seedings...our B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has earned the No. 3 playoff seed. The Jaguars (17-5) begin the postseason with a section quarterfinal match at home on Thursday, February 16 against No. 6-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The match will start at 7 p.m. Spread the word!
2023 Section 5A wrestling seedings:
1. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
2. Canby
3. B-B-E
4. Minneota
5. Paynesville Area
6. A-C-GC
7. Benson
8. Minnewaska Area
9. Ortonville
10. BOLD
*Here's video from Tuesday's wrestling action at the high school:
More to come. We have a big night ahead of us! Also: the Section 5A Final Four (team) is on Saturday, February 18 at Benson high school.
The No. 6-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball teamis hosting a young Maple Lake Irish squad in Central Minnesota Conference action. Also exciting: the Class of 2031 girls' basketball (fourth grade) players are in the house and sitting with the team. They were introduced prior to the starters being named before tip-off. This is a real thrill for the youth basketball players!
With 15:13 left, Anna Jaeger drained a left wing three to give the Jaguars an early 7-0 lead. Later with just over 13 minutes to go, Jaeger drilled a right wing three for a 10-0 lead. Maple Lake got their first bucket of the game with 12:35 left by No. 5.
UPDATE: with 7:42 left, the Jaguars are ahead 21-6, and Maple Lake has burnt their second timeout. HALFTIME: B-B-E 44, Maple Lake 13.
In the second half...Brooklyn Fischer just scored in the low post with 10:50 left to give the Jaguars a 66-21 lead. FINAL: B-B-E 73, Maple Lake 25. The Jaguars were led by 19 points from Brooklyn Fischer, who had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Also in double figures were Tiyana Schwinghammer (17 points and 6 rebounds) plus Abby Berge (12 points).
TOMORROW! The Jaguars (16-3) host a very tough Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg squad for a non-conference border battle. The Fighting Saints are 16-5 overall and 13-4 (second) in the Camden North Conference.
In wrestling news...I heard tonight and need to check official postings to be sure that our wrestling team earned the No. 3 seed in Section 5A. More wrestling news was published in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. The Jaguars finished the regular season 17-5 overall.
I did the math tonight, and it's official: my Jaguar tie is now 26-4 in winter contests across the basketball teams, wrestling and dance. For the record here's the split across the sports: 1-0 in dance (technically a JV win over NL-S), 7-2 in boys' basketball, 4-0 in wrestling (two tournament wins) and then 14-2 in girls' basketball. That is an amazing illustration of how well our winter teams are doing!!! BRAVO!
Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on February 9:
Holdingford 48, Kimball Area 38
Eden Valley-Watkins 51, Paynesville Area 48
Tuesday night was exciting from start to finish. I had a front row seat to hard-fought battles for both our wrestling and boys' basketball teams.
*Here's a video from the final 5 minutes at Eden Valley last night:
Eden Valley-Watkins entered the game last night as winners of eight in a row. They are challenging for a top-four seed in Section 3AA with Paynesville Area. That is going to be an interesting tournament to watch to the south while our boys' basketball team heads north to the Section 6A tournament in March.
**Here's a video from the 145 pound match last night as Brett DeRoo won a major decision:
*Here's Ryan Jensen starting his 132-pound match on Tuesday as his team was trailing 15-3 against the Wolves.
Jensen won his match at 132, and Wyatt Engen then won at 138 as the Jaguars started to climb out of that 15-3 deficit on the scoreboard. They ultimately won 41-23 for a huge win over the No. 5-ranked team in the state.
I have completed an area scoreboard on last night's blog post.
Tomorrow I'll learn more about the playoff seeding for the wrestling team. I don't expect that to be determined until Friday.
On deck tomorrow night (Thursday): the girls' basketball team hosts Maple Lake in a Central Minnesota Conference game. The Irish just lost last night to Blake (a fellow Section 5AA team) by a 51-46 score to fall to 4-15 overall; they are 0-10 in the CMC.
IT has been a TERRIFIC night for our teams! And my Jaguar tie racked up two more wins!
At conference-leading Eden Valley-Watkins, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team handed the Eagles their first conference loss with a hard-fought 67-59 win. This puts them one game out of first place in the Central Minnesota Conference. More on that later. The game went down to the wire. When I arrived at the EV-W gym, the Jaguars were ahead 57-55. The game was a grinder! Free throws in the clutch helped them get past the Eagles, who entered the game with an 8-0 CMC mark (13-4 overall).
The Jaguars (15-3, 7-2) shot 42 percent from the floor and made 11 of 14 free throws in the game; the second half was huge when they sank 9 of 12 tries at the line. They were 100 percent at the line in the first half but had just two attempts.
On the home mat tonight for Parents and Seniors night, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned a huge win against No. 5-ranked Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. "Don't quote me" but I believe the final score was 41-23. The Wolves are a contender in Section 7A this season. Final score:No. 8 B-B-E 41, No. 5 LPGE/B 23. Confirmed.
*Here's video from the 106 and 113 pound matches tonight at B-B-E high school:
Aiden Mueller at 106 pounds won a thriller in a 9-7 decision in overtime. This is featured in the first 30 seconds or so of the video above. Mueller trailed 5-4 in the final minute of the third period before closing it out with a takedown to go to the fourth period. This set the Jaguars up with a 3-0 lead, but the Wolves then scored 15 straight points. After that, the Jaguars outscored the Wolver 38-8 to claim the win.
*Here's a video featuring the final 10 seconds of the game at Eden Valley:
Tanner Shelton and Luke Illies each went 2-for-2 at the free throw line in the final minute at Eden Valley to ice the win. That was awesome!!
**Here's a 2-minute long clip that begins with the Jaguars ahead 59-56 with 3 minutes to go:
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 7:
Paynesville Area 60, Royalton 47
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 67, Holdingford 56
Kimball 82, Maple Lake 39
More to come...probably not until the morning. I have to get a large newspaper completed and it is going to be a tall, difficult task.
Area boys' basketball scores on February 7:
Benson 79, Minnewaska Area 54
New London-Spicer 92, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 67
Dawson-Boyd 76, Lac qui Parle Valley 40
Battle Lake 77, Underwood 60
Border West 76, Ashby 47
Henning 75, Wadena-Deer Creek 67
Albany 71, Melrose Area 37
MACCRAY 77, Renville County West 63
Hancock 66, Parkers Prairie 52
Brandon-Evansville 69, Rothsay 36
Swanville 60, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 58
Browerville 72, Osakis 65
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 53 Central MN Christian 30
Area girls' basketball scores on February 7:
LQPV 62, Central MN Christian 51
Minnewaska Area 59, MACCRAY 38
Ogilvie 72, Fond du Lac Ojibwe 14
New London-Spicer 83, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 29
Blake 51, Maple Lake 46
Alexandria 52, Marshall 50
Royalton 57, Rush City 37
Monticello 67, Eden Valley-Watkins 49
Kimball Area 49, Osakis 40 (the Cubs have won four straight, and the only teams who have beaten them are fellow conference members)
Litchfield 48, Annandale 33
Pine City 56, Braham 48
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 62, Cass Lake-Bena 44
Kimball Area 49, Osakis 40
Foley 44, Pierz 38
Henning 61, Browerville 23
Kelliher/Northome 82, Pine River-Backus 75
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 54, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 32
BOLD 68, West Central Area 66
Albany 73, Mora 24
Sauk Centre 43, Melrose Area 35
Montevideo 75, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 49
