Another split at Granite City Classic...and another Winter Sports Show (VIDEOS*)

In back-to-back games at St. Cloud Tech high school today for the second day of the Breakdown Sports Granite City Classic, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team was followed by a game featuring the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team. In the first game, which had a tip-off of 10 a.m., the Jaguars faced Section 5A rival Walker-Hackensack-Akeley. The Jaguars built a 52-42 lead later in the second half on their way to a 57-54 win against the No. 2-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Wolves. They improve to 6-5 overall heading into January.

Here's the final seconds of the first half today against W-H-A:


The W-H-A Wolves fall to 9-1 overall. They are the top-ranked team at this point in Sub-Section 5A-West and stood at No. 20 in the most recent Class 1A QRF rankings. The Jaguars are ranked No. 4 in Sub-Section 5A-East and No. 67 overall by QRF.

For the game, the Jaguars shot 28 percent from the floor. Both teams shot cold in the first half, but the Jaguars came out with more hustle and intensity after halftime to gain control of the game. Adley Hagen with 19 points and Kacey Fischer with 17 points led the way.

I caught up briefly with JV girls' basketball coach Jenna Dingmann and learned that her squad picked up a double-digit win yesterday in the Friday game of the Breakdown tournament. The JV Jaguars faced Albany today but fell by a wide margin.

Here's a short video clip from late in today's girls' basketball game:


That video clip begins with about 1:40 left in the game.

The Jaguars led 56-50 in the final minute and held on for the win. W-H-A battled to the final buzzer, but they could not get shots to fall in the last seconds.

Here's a post-game interview with Coach Kristina Anderson today at St. Cloud Tech high school:


I must always point out how grateful I am for the privilege and honor of working with outstanding head coaches in Jaguar Country. I rarely find convenient times for interviewing coaches, but they are always gracious and generous with their time when asked. It is a real treat to be able to work with Coach Kristina Anderson and cover her terrific basketball program!

And shifting to the boys' basketball team...
In the second game today at St. Cloud Tech, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played a terrific first half against Cass Lake-Bena and trailed 35-34 at halftime. The Panthers lit things up from beyond the arc in the second half, however, while handing the Jaguars a 71-58 loss.

B-B-E shot 52 percent from the floor in the first half, but they went cold early in the second half and shot just 25 percent across the final 18 minutes. Luke Illies led the way with 15 points, and Josh Walstrom and Lance Radermacher each added 10 points. A key statistic: in the second half, the Jaguars were just 8-for-32 in field goals, while the Panthers were 14-for-28 from the floor in that same 18-minute span. On the three-point line, the Panthers were 6-of-11 on the arc in the second half, while the Jaguars were 2-for-13.

CL-B was coming off of a 68-63 loss yesterday at SCSU to Mountain Iron-Buhl. They are now 5-4 overall.

And fresh from the recording studio! Here's my third winter sports podcast recording of this season:


The lighting was quite odd in the recording. I am not sure why that happened.

**Sunday addition:
Here's a quick shout out to the Belgrade Library and their upcoming Board Game Night which is tomorrow! Monday, December 30. This is from 4 to 6 p.m. as follows: Grab friends and family and enjoy a night of tabletop gaming! Drop in to play classics like Life, Clue, or Sequence (regular and junior versions) and learn some new games like Ticket to Ride, Exploding Kittens, I Need a New Butt and Gnomes at Night.

Area girls' basketball scores on December 28:
Sauk Centre 74, Perham 46
Frazee 75, New York Mills 73

Area boys' basketball scores on December 28:
Big Lake 94, Paynesville Area 80
Nicollet 78, Yellow Medicine East 63
Perham 68, Sauk Centre 65