Pine River-Backus posed a tough challenge throughout the first 10 minutes or so of last night's Sub-Section 5A-West semifinal game in Wadena. With 3 minutes gone, the Jaguars held an 8-7 lead. They pushed that to 14-10 with 12:20 left and then 16-10 with 11:50 to go. The Tigers utilized a two-on-one break to get within three at 17-14 with 9:30 left. They later tied it with a paint shot at the 7:30 mark for an 18-18 score.
A three-point play by Abby Berge earned on a 2-on-2 break with 6:50 left made it 21-18, but the Tigers knotted it up again with 5:05 left on a wide-open three-pointer.
The half went inside 3 minutes to go before the Jaguars found their groove. A lay-in shot by Brooklyn Fischer on a 2-on-1 break with 2:40 left gave the Jaguars a 28-22 lead. PR-B cut that to 28-24 with 2:28 left on two bonus free throws, but they would not score the rest of the half. B-B-E scored on three straight interior shots, the final in transition with just 20 seconds left, to take a 34-24 lead into the locker room.
*Here's Coach Anderson giving some of her perspective on the game:
In case you didn't hear, the Jaguars are heading to the 'Ship! For the 10th straight year, the Jaguars will play in a subsection championship game. They face a tough-as-nails Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Wolves squad on Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at Wadena-Deer Creek high school.
*Here's a video from Senior Night on Friday when the boys' basketball team hosted Hancock:
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned the No. 1 seed in Sub-Section 6A-South. They are 22-4 going into the playoffs with an offensive scoring average of 72.3 per game and a defensive average of 53.8. Border West (22-2) has won 19 straight and sits at No. 2 in the seedings, while Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (20-5) is No. 3. The Jaguars open playoffs at home on Thursday this week at 7 p.m. against either Benson or Ortonville.
More to come here much later tonight, including footage from the WHA-Nevis game. It's time to crank more on the big state wrestling story.
Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 4:
Eden Valley-Watkins 74, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 55
MACCRAY 70, Canby 66
Melrose Area 59, Holdingford 48
New London-Spicer 47, West Central Area 43
Litchfield 52, Paynesville Area 48
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 65, Minnewaska Area 38
