Stifling defense downs Jaguars (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team suffered through an intense struggle across a large portion of the second half of their border battle game with Paynesville Area tonight. For what was a 14-minute span, the Jaguars were outscored 34-10 in what resulted in a 74-51 loss.

That 14-minute span stretched from late in the first half until later in the second half. With 2:20 left before halftime, Taylor Pieper knocked down a three-pointer that gave the Jaguars a 29-27 lead. Unfortunately, in the last 70 seconds of the first half, Paynesville outscored the Jaguars by a 7-2 margin to take a 34-31 lead into the break.

The Bulldogs then started the second half by scoring 9 of the first 12 points, and they put the hammer down from there with an 18-5 run. With 5:55 to go, sophomore Reed Johnson's three-pointer gave his team a 61-39 lead to cap that 34-10 scoring surge...which played out in a span of 14 minutes and 25 seconds of the game.

Paynesville's 6'3" senior Abe Brunner had a career night with 25 points on incredible 12-of-17 field goal shooting. All you can do is tip your hat when you see that from an opponent. Overall, the Bulldogs shot at a 51 percent clip from the floor, while the Jaguars were stifled with 31 percent shooting.

Here's a video from late in the first half tonight:


The Jaguars are next in action this Saturday at Clarissa high school, where the Browerville Tigers host a co-ed doubleheader. The boys' C-squad game will be played at the Browerville elementary school with a noon tip-off. The JV boys' game will start at 12:30 p.m. in Clarissa. The boys' varsity game will follow that JV game in Clarissa at approximately 2 p.m. The Browerville boys' basketball team is 10-6 overall and has one three straight, including a big win over previously state-ranked Brandon-Evansville.

**UPDATES coming to this blog post on Friday afternoon...I have had to prepare for a trip to Brooklyn Park on Friday morning for the annual Minnesota Newspaper Association convention. The day will wrap up with the annual Belgrade Co-op convention at the Padua Pub.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 1:
Eden Valley-Watkins 76, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 66
Royalton 74, Kimball Area 68
Holdingford 91, Maple Lake 61

Area boys' basketball scores on February 1:
New London-Spicer 73, Minnewaska Area 50
Montevideo 89, Benson 52
Browerville 67, Upsala 63
Dawson-Boyd 83, Canby 48
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 74, Underwood 62
MACCRAY 83, Renville County West 38 (Wolverines are 15-4 overall and winners of 9 of their last 10 games; they are one game out of first place in the Camden North Conference behind Dawson-Boyd)
Minneota 84, Lac qui Parle Valley 66
Henning 100, Sebeka 51
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 86, Yellow Medicine East 39

Area girls' basketball scores on February 1:
Pine River-Backus 65, Browerville 64
Sauk Centre 58, Minnewaska Area 38
BOLD 51, Melrose Area 28
West Central Area 73, Swanville 31
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 48, Ashby 42
Brandon-Evansville 73, Rothsay 66
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 77, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 51
Hancock 70, Parkers Prairie 34
Alexandria 72, Willmar 46
Underwood 68, Battle Lake 24
Montevideo 64, Benson 30
Lakeview 58, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 49