A 3-and-oh quadrangular! (VIDEO)

This blog post was updated with an area Friday night scoreboard; plus a video and also a link to read about Valentine's Day entertainment at Heidi's Bar.

The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team had their best night of the season last night at the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City quadrangular. They entered on a five-match losing skid but shook that off with three wins.

For the Jaguars, they earned the following results:
B-B-E 36, A-C-GC 33
B-B-E 69, BOLD 6
B-B-E 53, Royalton/Upsala 15

The Jaguars trailed the Falcons 33-24 going into the 215-pound match. At 215, Hunter Laage won by fall (0:52) against Charlie Jones. At 285, Carson Gilbert won by fall (2:29) against Juan Cardenas for the huge come-from-behind team win. A-C-GC, a Section 5A rival, entered the night 17-8 in duals. With the three wins, the Jaguars improved to 6-10 overall. In the other duals of the night, A-C-GC defeated BOLD 67-6 and then Royalton/Upsala 33-29.

The triangular tonight started at 5 p.m. with Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie (14-9) and Quad County (8-12). The regular season concludes next Tuesday with a dual at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school against LPGE/Browerville.

Here's action at 172 and 189 pounds against BH/Verndale/Parkers Prairie tonight:


*Update: tonight, the Jaguars (7-11) lost the first dual 36-29 to BH/V/PP before defeating Quad County 51-20.

In business news...
It's time to ramp up promotion of the Valentine's Day live music that's coming to Heidi's Bar in Sedan. You can read about it here: https://shorturl.at/FTJu3. The web article features an attached video with Dana and the Bottlerockets.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 31:
Kimball Area 67, Royalton 52
Paynesville Area 71, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 59
Holdingford 93, Maple Lake 43

Area girls' basketball scores on January 31:
Minnewaska Area 51, Sauk Centre 48
West Central Area 70, Melrose Area 34
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 70, Melrose Area 34
Albany 44, St. Cloud Cathedral 40
BOLD 76, Montevideo 66
New London-Spicer 53, Annandale 47
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 57, Upsala 54
MACCRAY 65, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 53 (the Wolverines hand K-M-S their first loss of the season; it avenges an 88-54 loss in Kerkhoven back on December 5)
Canby 66, Renville County West 42
Lakeview 66, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 44
Minneota 71, Yellow Medicine East 56
Dawson-Boyd 72, Ortonville 50
Central MN Christian 70, Lac qui Parle Valley 32

Area boys' basketball scores on January 31:
Annandale 74, New London-Spicer 53
Sartell-St. Stephen 63, Willmar 59
Parkers Prairie 45, Battle Lake 42
Border West 73, Underwood 53
Osakis 74, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 46
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 53, Brandon-Evansville 45
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 82, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 63
Rothsay 62, Ashby 45
Alexandria 101, Sauk Rapids-Rice 88
Lac qui Parle Valley 76, Hancock 68
Dawson-Boyd 73, Minneota 34

One win in hand, another yet to come!...and it was a 2-0 night! (VIDEOS!)

This blog post is being updated on Friday afternoon while I'm in Brooklyn Park; including the area scoreboard for Thursday night, one additional video plus a link to my editor's blog.

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played perhaps their best game of the season and defeated Eden Valley-Watkins tonight by a 67-62 score. The halftime lead for the home squad was 27-20. Junior Taylor Pieper led the team with 19 points. The Jaguars shot 50 percent at the free throw line (16-32) and 37 percent from the floor (23-61).

The Jaguars got out to a rough start and trailed 8-2 with 14:50 left after the Eagles scored on three straight driving layups. With 14:34 to go, Lance Radermacher connected from the right corner with a three-pointer, and the Jaguars were off to a 9-0 scoring run. Luke Illies's 10-footer with 12:30 left put the Jaguars ahead 11-8. One minute later, Taylor Pieper drove inside right of the lane to make it a 13-8 lead.

Austin Berge's three-pointer put the Jaguars ahead 16-11. With 7 minutes left, the Eagles scored on the baseline to narrow the gap to 18-16. They went over 6 minutes from that point without a field goal, while the Jaguars expanded their lead to 27-17. EV-W sophomore Caleb DeRose scored on a right corner three with 28 seconds left that made it 27-20 at halftime. Across the last 10 minutes of the first half, EV-W scored two field goals and one free throw.

As it played out, both teams shot 30 percent on field goals in the first half.

The Eagles stayed within striking distance thanks to hot three-point shooting in the second half. The first three-pointer was made with 13:45 left, and the next one just 25 seconds later. B-B-E expanded the 34-28 lead when Luke Illies hit a three with 13:10 to go. DeRose's second three-pointer of the second half was made with 10:20 to go, and this narrowed B-B-E's lead to 41-36. That was the closest they could get until the game's final minute. With 20 seconds to go, the Eagles scored on a layup that cut B-B-E's lead to 64-60. Josh Walstrom then cashed 2 double bonus free throws with 17.7 seconds left, and the Jaguars hung on for the badly-needed win.

*Here's the game's tip-off and the early minutes of the first half:


EV-W fell to 5-13 overall with their 7th straight loss.

At Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team held a lead at halftime. I don't have more information than that.

Here's action from the second half of tonight's boys' basketball game:


Update...
In a marvelous performance, the girls' basketball team avenged a loss to Holdingford in December and won tonight by a 59-52 score. This marks their first win against the Huskers since December 7, 2021. B-B-E led 26-21 at halftime. Scoring for the Jaguars: Kacey Fischer 14, Bree Thieschafer 13, Adley Hagen 10, Macey Roering 9, Teagan Dingmann 9, Mya Worms 4.

The Jaguars improved to 13-7 overal and 7-2 in the CMC. Next is a non-conference game this Saturday in Belgrade against Browerville. Tip-off for the boys' varsity team is at 2 p.m., and the girls' varsity team should follow with tip-off at about 3:30 p.m.

That's all I've got for tonight. I have a big day tomorrow with a drive to Brooklyn Park for the Minnesota Newspaper Association annual convention. Good night!

Here's the blog link to my editor's blog, where I'm adding a few updates from Brooklyn Park at the MNA Convention: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 30:
Royalton 50, Kimball Area 24
Paynesville Area 70, Maple Lake 44
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 37

Area boys' basketball scores on January 3:
Holdingford 85, Foley 42
Montevideo 91, Minnewaska Area 49
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 87, Canby 70
Watertown-Mayer 68, New London-Spicer 64
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 56, Melrose Area 37
Swanville 100, Ogilvie 49
Upsala 64, Browerville 60
Sauk Centre 59, West Central Area 42
Minneota 84, MACCRAY 71
BOLD 75, Cedar Mountain 74
Lac qui Parle Valley 83, Yellow Medicine East 71

Area girls' basketball scores on January 30:
Upsala 71, Browerville 33
Pipestone Area 51, Minneota 44
BOLD 68, Cedar Mountain 56
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 73, Nevis 26
East Central 52, Hinckley-Finlayson 39
Osakis 61, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 29
Ogilvie 54, Swanville 51
Alexandria 76, Willmar 45
Underwood 66, Parkers Prairie 50
Brandon-Evansville 67, Battle Lake 42
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 93, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 88
Rothsay 61, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 49

GAME NIGHT! in Jaguar Country

A big game is on deck tonight for home fans in Jaguar Country, just as it was two nights ago. Instead of a section non-conference game, this one features a Central Minnesota Conference battle between our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team and the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles. The C-squad game started at 4:45 p.m., and the JV and varsity games will follow.

This is a huge game for the Jaguars, who sit in 7th place in the CMC with a 2-6 record. The Eagles (5-12) are 3-5 in the CMC and in a tie for 5th place with Royalton a 3-5. B-B-E is 3-14 overall, and a win is badly needed as they are currently on a four-game skid. In the meeting of the teams back on December 20, the Jaguars blew a double-digit lead in the second half, and Caleb DeRose canned a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave EV-W a 71-70 win. He is the grandson of Jim DeRose, former Belgrade and B-B-E band teacher (1983-2002).

Sidebar: Mr. DeRose is owner of Riverside Inn of Cold Spring, whose website is: https://www.riversideinncs.com. I spent the afternoon at Riverside with my wife today. You can read more about that excursion in next week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

The varsity game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They stream online, and you can listen to the game either at 107.1 FM on your radio dial or by clicking here: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

**Halftime: BBE 27, EVW 20. 

Jaguars stung in closing minute (*VIDEOS)

Note: this blog post was updated late Wednesday night with added video and an area scoreboard...

With just 35 seconds to go, the Upsala Cardinals scored the go-ahead basket via a low-percentage corner three-pointer and held on for a 54-53 win against our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team tonight. It was a tough, tough loss to swallow. After holding a 28-20 halftime lead, the Jaguars saw the Cardinals whittle away at the deficit. With 5:44 remaining, the Jaguars led 49-40. They went stone cold for the remainder of the game, and a last-second shot for the win rimmed out. Then, with 0.1 seconds on the clock, two B-B-E free throws danced around the rim as heartbreak fell on the home team.

The game's final 2 minutes were wild. Upsala used an 11-0 scoring run to gain a 51-49 lead, with a shot in the paint putting them in front with 1:52 left. Nearly a minute went by before either team scored. With 1 minute to go, Bree Thieschafer scored for a tie game. With 32 seconds left, Upsala senior guard Hailie Luedtke launched a successful three-pointer in the left corner for a 54-51 lead. The Jaguars attempted to set up a couple different three-point shots, but they settled for a paint rebound putback by Kacey Fischer with 12 seconds left to cut it to 54-53. On Upsala's inbounds pass, the Jaguars got the needed turnover, but things did not work out in their favor in the closing seconds.

*Here's a short video clip that shows when Upsala scored the go-ahead basket in the final minute:


The girls' basketball team (12-7) has just one day to lick their wounds. A huge, huge Central Minnesota Conference game is on deck with a trip to Holdingford this Thursday night. The Huskers are 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the CMC. In the past 2 weeks, Holdingford was tagged with two CMC losses: 56-52 at Kimball on January 16 and 63-42 at Royalton last Friday, January 24. On December 20 in Belgrade, the Huskers defeated the Jaguars 57-51. In the CMC, the Jaguars sit just a half-game ahead of Holdingford with a 6-2 record.

Here's a video from the first half of the game:


Also...the Thursday night boys' basketball game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Please spread the word!

In boys' basketball action tonight...
At Kimball tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team gave a terrific effort against first-place Kimball Area. Early in the second half, with under 16 minutes left, the Jaguars trailed the Cubs 37-27. They went into halftime down 35-22. Final: Kimball Area 61, B-B-E 49.

The Cubs, who entered tonight's game in a three-way tie for first place in the CMC, are 9-5 overall (7-1 CMC). Next: the boys' basketball team (3-14, 2-6) has a big home game on Thursday this week against Eden Valley-Watkins (5-11, 3-4).

Video will be added here on Wednesday morning. It's time to get the newspaper ready for press! Good night.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 28:
Paynesville Area 67, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 28:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 85, Maple Lake 57
Holdingford 77, Paynesville Area 52
Royalton 58, Eden Valley-Watkins 53

Area girls' basketball scores on January 28:
Willmar 61, Sauk Rapids-Rice 19
Minnewaska Area 76, BOLD 53
New London-Spicer 85, Watertown-Mayer 59
Albany 71, Eden Valley-Watkins 46
Melrose Area 63, Benson 45
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 54, Montevideo 45
Royalton 61, Foley 46
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 91, Dawson-Boyd 47
Holdingford 55, Osakis 40
Hancock 70, Battle Lake 35
Sauk Centre 62, West Central Area 55
Braham 73, Swanville 40
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 52, Henning 44
Central MN Christian 80, MACCRAY 55

Area boys' basketball scores on January 28:
Watertown-Mayer 67, New London-Spicer 53
Montevideo 79, West Central Area 60
Parkers Prairie 49, Brandon-Evansville 47
Rothsay 65, Battle Lake 45
BOLD 73, Yellow Medicine East 41
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 67, Hancock 61
Mora 76, Sauk Centre 75
Border West 76, Breckenridge 55
Browerville 77, Wadena-Deer Creek 55
Underwood 71, Ashby 62

GAME NIGHT! In Jaguar Country (RADIO)

We've got another big game night for Jaguar Country to take in. Tonight, on the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team hosts Section 5A rival Upsala in a non-conference game. It features the No. 2 (B-B-E) and the No. 4-ranked teams in Sub-Section 5A-East. The stakes rate high for playoff rankings, even though the postseason is still over 4 weeks away.

The Cardinals (9-6) are smarting with 2 straight losses, while the Jaguars (12-6) have won two straight.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website community calendar has been updated again. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/F8Oio.

**UPDATES:
Tonight's girls' basketball game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!) They stream online, and their website is: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

In the JV girls' basketball game against Upsala, the Jaguars won 55-29. The Cardinals do not have a C-squad team. In the varsity game, the Jaguars are ahead 28-20 at halftime.

Updates and final scores in a NEW blog post.

It was unreal! A wild ending in a 6th grade game + College Updates (VIDEO)

Note: on Sunday night, this blog post was updated to feature some college basketball updates...

In a regular season Highway 55 league Community Education game today, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball Class of 2031 sixth graders faced Rocori in their last game of the afternoon at the elementary. Later in the first half, the Jaguars cut a 9-5 deficit in half when Harper Dickhoff went 2-for-2 at the free throw line. The Spartans led 11-7 at halftime, however, after getting a steal and layup with 12 seconds left.

That four-point halftime deficit grew to 14-7 when Mrs. Erin Koshiol's daughter (for Rocori) canned a long three-point shot with 11:45 on the clock. B-B-E's offense was putting up some good shots, but none were falling. In their favor was the fact that the majority of the second half was still in front of them.

Cue the comeback! It would soon be underway.

Over 3 minutes played out after Koshiol's three-pointer before either team scored. With 8:38 left, Harper Herickhoff scored on the right block to cut it to 14-9. Nearly 2 more minutes would pass by with neither team scoring. Emma Bast then made a big rebound shot in the paint to cut it to 14-11 with 6:50 remaining. Almost a minute later, Herickhoff made 1 of 2 free throw shots to make it a two-point game.

All this time, B-B-E's defense was standing up to some tough guard play and tall, athletic Rocori players who made rebounding tough.

With 3:20 left, perhaps the biggest shot of the game was made when Isabella Olson scored in the paint to put the game into a 14-14 tie. The Jaguars had turned the tables on Rocori, and the Spartans had gone over 8 minutes without scoring by that point. Rocori then got around B-B-E's defense with a quick layup that immediately followed Olson's shot. Now back in a deficit, the Jaguars pushed straight down court, and Addison Reese made a huge bucket in the paint to force a 16-16 tie with 2:50 left. As it played out, that shot by Reese was the last field goal made in the game.

With 1:40 left, Herickhoff went 1-of-2 at the free throw line to break the tie. The 17-16 score stood for over 1 minute of play, but the Spartans then tied it with 28.8 seconds left by going 1-of-2 at the line. You can see the last 60 seconds of the game play out in the video below.

Here's a 5 minute video featuring the last 60 seconds of the game:


Final score: B-B-E 19, Rocori 17! In the first game today, B-B-E defeated Paynesville Area 21-13. In the meeting between Rocori and Paynesville, the Spartans won on a last-second shot by a 16-15 score after they trailed 15-10 with around 8 minutes to go.

More to come.

In college basketball news...
B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Abby Berge led the Minnesota State University-Moorhead women's basketball team in minutes played (31) in a 63-53 win on Saturday this weekend over Wayne State College. Berge, a 5'11" sophomore guard/forward, also had 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win evened MSU-Moorhead's league record at 7-7. They are 9-11 overall with their third straight win. On Friday night, January 24, the Dragons hosted Augustana University of Sioux Falls and earned a 57-43 win. Against the Vikings, Berge played 27 minutes while scoring 10 points with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. On Saturday, January 18 at Winona State University, Berge played 29 minutes with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds. MSU-Moorhead's next game is on Thursday, January 30 in Aberdeen against Northern State University (13-7, 10-4). The Dragons will be looking to avenge a narrow 73-70 loss to NSU in Moorhead on December 5.

The Northland Community and Technical College Pioneers women's basketball team drubbed Minnesota College Athletic Conference North Division rival Central Lakes College 70-48 on Saturday, January 25. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer played 31 minutes while scoring 9 points with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot while her Pioneers improved to 15-4 overall. NCTC blew away NJCAA Division II Gogebic College in Ironwood, Michigan on Saturday, January 18 by a 95-56 score. It was the fourth time this season that the Pioneers surpassed 90 points. Schwinghammer led the team with 23 points in 26 minutes of play. The sophomore guard also had 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. NCTC's next game is in Ely on Saturday, February 1 against Minnesota North College-Vermilion (3-17).

Two Pirouettes earn All-Camden honors, Winter Sports Show resumes (VIDEOS)

Note: late on Saturday night, an area scoreboard will be added to this blog post from Friday night action. Then! A new blog post will be added much later tonight that talks about today's (Saturday) action!

At the Camden Conference championships tonight at Renville County West high school, senior Emily Houk and junior Taya Ogdahl earned all-conference honors for the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team. They competed tonight in the varsity jazz division. In that division, Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd won the Camden title. In the kick division, Yellow Medicine East took first place.

At home, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team fell 78-39 to visiting Holdingford. From field goal range, the Jaguars shot 36 percent compared to 50 percent by the Huskers. Also a factor in the game: Holdingford launched 64 field goals compared to B-B-E putting up 49 attempts. Holdingford had 31 rebounds in the game, while the Jaguars had 18. Next: the Jaguars travel to Kimball Area next Tuesday for another Central Minnesota Conference game.

Holdingford improved to 14-2 overall, and the Huskers are 6-1 in the CMC in a first-place tie with Kimball Area and Paynesville Area.

Here's my latest installment of a winter sports show:


Below is a video featuring what I was talking about at the dance competition at RCW tonight.

Here's the Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd Shadows in the kick division:


That's all I've got for tonight. It's an early rise on Saturday, as the 5th grade Class of 2032 girls' basketball Jaguars host Highway 55 league games at the elementary school beginning at 8 a.m.!

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 24:
Royalton 63, Holdingford 42
Kimball Area 69, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 34
Paynesville Area 52, Eden Valley-Watkins 50

Area boys' basketball scores on January 24:
Paynesville Area 76, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 57
Henning 63, Bertha-Hewitt 33
Pierz 64, Royalton 57
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 56, Montevideo 45
Minnewaska Area 74, Eden Valley-Watkins 58
Browerville 76, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 46
Parkers Prairie 55, Ashby 47
Border West 65, Rothsay 46
Hancock 67, Brandon-Evansville 65
West Central Area 62, Melrose Area 51
Willmar 63, Zimmerman 59
Sauk Centre 56, BOLD 43
Rockford Area 69, New London-Spicer 55
MACCRAY 72, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 67

Area girls' basketball scores on January 24:
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 75, Pine River-Backus 44
Sauk Centre 69, BOLD 44
Maple Lake 49, Mille Lacs 33
Albany 47, Little Falls 45

A win and a loss, and Pirouettes make it 8 for 8! (VIDEO)

This blog post was updated with a Thursday night scoreboard.

Hold your hats! This is just incredible! The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team had two squads earn trophies tonight. At the Wabasso Invitational, the Pirouettes Varsity Jazz squad took second place. In JV Kick, the Pirouettes earned first place! That made the 82-mile drive home in the school van quite exciting tonight with two more team trophies to add to their 2024-2025 season collection! Teams competing at Wabasso tonight were Worthington, New Ulm Cathedral and the host team. Next: the Pirouettes Varsity Jazz team travels to Renville County West high school tomorrow (Friday) for the Camden Conference Championships. The stated start time is 6:30 p.m., with the National Anthem scheduled for 6:25 p.m. The B-B-E/Paynesville dance team is set to perform at 7 p.m. The Camden Conference features these teams in dance: Lakeview, Yellow Medicine East, Wabasso, Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, Canby/Minneota and MACCRAY/RCW.

In girls' basketball action to the north...
In a non-conference game at Osakis tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team put on a defensive clinic in a 59-25 win over the Prairie Conference-leading Silverstreaks. They were especially strong in the opening half and led 26-11 at the break.

For the game, the No. 9-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Jaguars shot 35 percent from the floor (4-of-10 for threes) and 7-of-13 at the line. Adley Hagen was the leading scorer with 14 points. Also in double figures were Kacey Fischer (11 points) plus Bree Thieschafer and Macey Roering with 10 each.

Here's a video featuring action early in the 2nd half at Osakis:


The Jaguars improve to 12-6 overall, while Osakis moves to 8-6 on the season. The Silverstreaks currently lead the Prairie Conference with a 4-0 record.

In the border battle at Paynesville...
For the Central Minnesota Conference border battle tonight at Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team was right in the thick of it until the closing minutes. The Bulldogs, who entered the game tied for first place in the CMC (5-1), stretched out a two-possession lead midway through the second half to win by double digits. Final: Paynesville Area 70, B-B-E 55.

At halftime, the Bulldogs led 39-34. The second half did not go well for the visitors, however, as the Jaguars shot just 21 percent from the floor across the final 18 minutes. For the game, the Jaguars made 9 out of 33 attempts beyond the arc.

Taylor Pieper was the leading scorer for B-B-E with 20 points, and Austin Berge had a career high of 11 points as the only other Jaguar in double figures. Lance Radermacher was next on the team with 9 points.

Coming into today, Paynesville, Kimball and Holdingford were all in a virtual tie for first place in the CMC. The Bulldogs improve to 10-6 overall and 6-1 in the CMC. The Cubs were 5-1 in the CMC before tonight, and Holdingford was 4-1. The Jaguars fell to 3-12 overall and 2-4 in the CMC. Next: the Jaguars have no time to rest as they will host Holdingford tomorrow (Friday) in a CMC game. The Huskers are now 5-1 in the CMC after defeating EV-W tonight in Holdingford.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 23:
Royalton 71, Maple Lake 30
Kimball Area 69, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 55
Holdingford 74, Eden Valley-Watkins 61

Area boys' basketball scores on January 23:
Fergus Falls 70, Willmar 69
Alexandria 112, St. Cloud Tech 55
Albany 59, Little Falls 26
Osakis 52, Upsala 34
Border West 56, Benson 46
West Central Area 76, Underwood 60
Browerville 89, Swanville 68
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 85, MACCRAY 38
Lakeview 67, Ortonville 56
Dawson-Boyd 89, Yellow Medicine East 42
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 55, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 52
Minneota 65, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 51

Area girls' basketball scores on January 23:
Braham 71, Ogilvie 50
Minnewaska Area 66, Montevideo 45
Melrose Area 62, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 61
Kimball Area 56, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 41
Litchfield 59, Paynesville Area 43
Maple Lake 53, Breck 50
Rothsay 62, Ashby 32
Swanville 71, East Central 36
Hancock 76, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 52
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 72, Brandon-Evansville 35
Royalton 58, Upsala 47
Underwood 51, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 46
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 61, Yellow Medicine East 59

Busy night on deck

I am blogging remotely by cell phone, trying to get caught up from a crazy start to my week. Both basketball teams and the wrestling team are in action tonight. I will post updates as I get them.

**The varsity boys' basketball game at Paynesville will be streamed on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

*Updates: the wrestlers lost their first dual of their home triangular by a 48 to 25 score to Canby.

**Final in Paynesville: Paynesville 70, BBE 55.

A sudden and tragic loss of a B-B-E graduate

While I did not hear full details on what happened, I was crushed to hear about the sudden passing of a member of the B-B-E Class of 2002. Courtney Mithaugen, daughter of the late Chip Mithaugen of Brooten (Class of 1982) and Michele Lemcke of Brooten (Class of 1984), passed away on Sunday, January 19.

Her full obituary has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, click here: https://shorturl.at/Sd9EB. Courtney was a Jaguar student-athlete at B-B-E and also served on the student council among many other activities.

Chip Mithaugen passed away on January 6, 2022.

Cassie Mithaugen, who was a second cousin of Courtney, was killed one year ago by an impaired driver (drugs) on January 22. He is still in the legal system, and his sentencing is coming some time this spring. Courtney's grandpa Harold Mithaugen is an older brother to Cassie's father, Donald.

In sports news...
The girls' basketball (C, B, A-squad) games at Kimball Area have been postponed. Kimball schools were closed today. That's all I know.

Two-hour late start on Tuesday, January 21

It was no surprise when parents got the call tonight.

Due to the bitter, bone-chilling weather, classes will start 2 hours late on Tuesday, January 21 at B-B-E. As of 19:30 tonight, the temperature in Brooten hovers around 22 below zero. It's supposed to get down to -24 with a high of 8 above for Tuesday.

Bright spots across a bitterly cold weekend (VIDEOS)

In youth boys' and girls' basketball action, numerous elementary basketball teams competed in home and away tournaments this weekend. Roughly 22 members of the current third grade, the Class of 2034, played in tournaments at just about the very beginning of their careers. Today, at BOLD high school in Olivia, Class of 2034 girls' basketball players were in a tournament. Yesterday, on the home courts at B-B-E high school and elementary, third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade boys' basketball players hosted their own tournament.

At Royalton yesterday, members of the Class of 2031 girls' basketball team played in a tournament. Today at Eden Valley-Watkins, Class of 2032 girls' basketball players played in a tournament where they finished 1-2.

Here's a video from the second half of the varsity game on Thursday night against Royalton...


In that video, the Jaguars cut into Royalton's large (13-point) halftime lead in the latter part of the second half. With just under 7 minutes to go, Kacey Fischer's three-point shot on the right wing cut the deficit to 43-41.

Here's the last 93 seconds or so of the 1st half of today's consolation semifinal in Eden Valley:


The B-B-E 5th graders won 17-4 in that game against Rocori.

More to come later. I have to catch up on more exciting dance team news from the Rocori Invitational. We are all fighting bone-chilling temperatures across the Bonanza Valley area this weekend. Tonight, the temperature is supposed to drop to plunge to 19 below zero! Tomorrow, Monday, the high is supposed to be negative 13 degrees! Then! A low of 23 below zero is coming tomorrow night. Good grief! That reminds me of winters I experienced when I was a sophomore and junior at B-B-E high school.

I've also been greatly distracted recently by discovering a free channel on our TV that features one show, 24/7 - Little House on the Prairie!

Jaguars get back to winning (VIDEO)

In a big Central Minnesota Conference game at Royalton tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team shook off what was perhaps their worst performance of the season by knocking off the Royals by a 60-55 score. The Jaguars built a lead as large as 55-43 in the closing minutes. With 8 seconds to go, the Royals had closed it to 58-55 before the Jaguars held on for the win.

Luke Illies led the Jaguars with 16 points, 4 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Josh Walstrom had 15 points, and Lance Radermacher earned his first-ever double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Jaguars shot 31 percent on field goals and made 9 of 25 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, they were 15-for-24.

Royalton falls to 5-8 overall (1-5 CMC), while the Jaguars improve to 3-10 (2-3 CMC). Next: the Jaguars continue their four-game road swing with a trip into Morrison County to Upsala (9-3, 3-0 Prairie Conference) next Tuesday, January 21. The Cardinals are the No. 2-ranked team in Sub-Section 5A-East.

In girls' basketball action...
In a key Section 5A matchup, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team withstood a strong test from a young Pine River-Backus team while recording a 63-52 win. At halftime, the Jaguars led 36-20, but the Tigers scored the first 9 points of the second half. They hold an 11-6 overall record going into a big CMC game next Tuesday at Kimball Area (10-4, 5-1). The Tigers are 10-5 overall.

Kacey Fischer poured in 25 points with 11 rebounds, and Bree Thieschafer scored 16 points with 3 rebounds and 6 steals.

Here's a video from the first half of the game tonight:


In a CMC game tonight at Maple Lake, the Kimball girls' basketball team won 53-24.

In wrestling action tonight...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team finished in third place out of 8 teams. Their next action is a home triangular next Thursday, January 23 with state-ranked Minneota and Canby.

Individual B-B-E results at NL-S:
107: Noah Jensen 2nd place.
114: Noah Welte 3rd place.
121: Noah DeRoo 5th place.
127: Jace Mueller 4th place.
133: Logan Oeltjenbruns 5th place.
139: Louie Tensen 6th place.
145: Dylan Koob 6th place.
152: Andrew Spanier 6th place.
160: Brett DeRoo 1st place.
172: open.
189: Hunter Laage 2nd place.
215: Carson Gilbert 1st place.
285: Eli Wold 6th place.

Team scores at NL-S tonight:
1. Pierz 232
2. NL-S 174
3. B-B-E 153
4. Eden Valley-Watkins 134.5
5. Pipestone Area 92
6. Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie 84
7. Kimball Area 83.5
8. Sartell-St. Stephen 68

Area girls' basketball scores on January 17:
Hancock 75, Ashby 23
Sauk Centre 56, Albany 40
Royalton 66, St. Cloud Area 32
Mountain Iron-Buhl 75, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 67

Area boys' basketball scores on January 17:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 57, Sauk Centre 49
Melrose Area 49, Benson 42
Osakis 67, Swanville 58
Parkers Prairie 68, Wadena-Deer Creek 43
Henning 67, Battle Lake 45
Renville County West 70, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 63

GAME NIGHT! On the radio (UPDATES)

Tonight's girls' basketball game against Pine River-Backus will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train. (That is hot-linked) The JV Jaguars girls easily handled the tigers, but the varsity game will be a tough battle. 

Our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is taking on a PR-B team that is 10-4 overall with a great deal of youth in their lineup.

At halftime, I'll get caught up at least a little bit on wrestling at New London-Spicer.

Update at Royalton...the boys' basketball team trails the Royals 22-19 at halftime. They are battling!

From New London-Spicer...the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team sits in third place with 153 points behind New London-Spicer (174 points) and Pierz (232 points).

Giant-slaying effort falters down the stretch, dance team hauls in more trophies (VIDEOS)

First, here's a video from the home dance competition held tonight.

This is the video of the awards ceremony...


This makes it SIX-FOR-SIX! Six competitions this season, and six competitions where the Pirouettes have earned hardware.

And now for some basketball coverage...
A valiant effort for a second-half comeback tonight faded in the closing minutes for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team against undefeated Royalton. In a battle of two of the top teams in the Central Minnesota Conference, the Jaguars were unable to erase what was as much as a 20-point deficit from the first half. Final: Royalton 62, B-B-E 53.

At halftime, the Royals (12-0, 6-0) led 36-23. The gap was as wide as 20 points with about 2:30 left, when Royalton led 36-16.

Here's action from early in the 2nd half tonight:


How the second half played out...
With a steep, uphill climb at hand, the Jaguars came out firing after halftime. Bree Thieschafer scored the first points of the second half on a three-pointer with 16:32 on the clock. With 16:10 left, Teagan Dingmann went 2-for-2 at the line to make it a 38-28 score. With just over 13 minutes left, Adley Hagen scored on a left side drive off the glass to make the score 41-31. Across the next 4 minutes of the game, the Jaguars pushed the deficit into the low single digits. With 9:10 left, Thieschafer scored a cleanup shot on a fast break to make it 41-38.

At the 8:50 mark, Royalton scored in the paint but missed an and-one free throw that made it 43-38. Over 2 minutes passed by with no scoring by either team.

With 6:45 left in the game, Kacey Fischer knocked down a wide open three-pointer near the right wing to cut what was a giant deficit to just 43-41. The pace of the game was in B-B-E's favor, and the lead was within reach.

Royalton junior forward Haylie Wolbeck's three-pointer with 6:15 left pushed their lead to 48-41. Later, with 5:05 left, Mya Worms scored in the lane to get it to a 50-45 deficit. That was as close as they could get, as the Royals pushed the lead back to double digits at 55-45 with 3:40 to go.

The Jaguars (10-6, 5-2) shot just 21 percent in the first half as they saw their six-game winning streak halted. They have little time to lick their wounds, however, as they have a huge, huge Section 5A game back on the home floor tomorrow night with Pine River-Backus. The Tigers (10-4 overall) are the No. 3-ranked team in Sub-Section 5A-West. In Sub-Section 5A-East, the Jaguars are ranked No. 2 behind Braham (11-3).

For the game, B-B-E made just 11 of 47 field goals inside the arc. On the three-point line, they made 6 of 18 attempts. Bree Thieschafer and Adley Hagen had two three-pointers each. At the free throw line, the Jaguars made 13 of 18 attempts.

In the home dance competition tonight...
The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team earned hardware at their home competition tonight. This makes them 6-for-6 for the season! I don't have full results at my fingertips, but I know the JV Kick squad took first place. They have competed in six competitions so far, and they've come home with hardware every one of them. The Pirouttes have a big competition coming up, as they travel to Rocori high school on Saturday. Teams in Class 1A at Rocori include BOLD, Bagley, Melrose Area, Minnewaska Area, Pierz and Sauk Centre.

**Here's a video featuring the JV Jazz team performing tonight:


In boys' basketball action...
In a border battle at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team suffered a tough 71-42 loss to see their two-game winning streak end. Ice cold 6-of-33 field goal shooting (18%) in the second half was a huge factor in the loss after they trailed just 19-18 with about 9 minutes to go in the first half. At the break, the Fighting Saints led 41-24.

Luke Illies had 14 points, and Lance Radermacher was also in double figures with 10 points. Next: the boys' basketball team travels to Royalton tomorrow for a CMC game.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 16:
Kimball Area 56, Holdingford 52 (a huge win for the Cubs against the three-time defending champion Huskers, and now Kimball Area is a half game out of first place)

Area girls' basketball scores on January 16:
Minnewaska Area 82, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 25 (the halftime score in rural Starbuck was 58-4...ouch!)
Mayer Lutheran 68, BOLD 57 (a great effort by BOLD against the vaunted Crusaders)
Albany 54, Milaca 50
New London-Spicer 69, Eden Valley-Watkins 32
Sauk Centre 57, Melrose Area 31
Osakis 71, Browerville 32
West Central Area 58, Montevideo 32
Underwood 71, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 32
Hancock 62, Brandon-Evansville 40
Swanville 85, St. John's Prep 35
Yellow Medicine East 61, Dawson-Boyd 32
Parkers Prairie 61, Ashby 24
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 60, Minneota 53 (this is perhaps K-M-S's first-ever win against Minneota)
Lac qui Parle Valley 65, Renville County West 59
Central MN Christian 68, Canby 28
MACCRAY 61, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 20
Park Rapids Area 66, Nevis 49

Area boys' basketball scores on January 16:
Staples-Motley 90, Royalton 62
Eden Valley-Watkins 49, New London-Spicer 39
MA/CA 80, Paynesville Area 42
Benson 81, Swanville 54

Preparing for another super busy night

No shortage of action tonight!

We have TWO home varsity events in Jaguar Country tonight, Thursday, January 16. First, I'll direct your attention to fresh updates on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, which you can find here: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team has their home competition tonight at 6 p.m. at the elementary school. They are persevering in the wake of losing the home dance competition due to inclement weather in December. Being able to host tonight is wonderful!

Also at home, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has their biggest game of the season so far by hosting Royalton at the high school in Central Minnesota Conference action. First place is on the line! The Royals enter the game 11-0 overall with a perfect 5-0 mark in the conference. The Jaguars are just one game behind (a half game, technically) with a 6-1 record.

In a border battle at Kerkhoven tonight,, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team puts their winning streak on the line when they take on Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a non-conference game.

GAME updates to follow...
**In the girls' basketball varsity game, The Royals are ahead 7 to 3 with 3 minutes played.

Halftime: Royalton 36, B-B-E 23.

Three varsity teams earn wins

Updates, with a Tuesday night scoreboard, are being added to this blog post on Thursday morning.

All three varsity teams that were in action tonight earned wins in their respective competitions.

At home, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned a 79-64 win over Maple Lake in a Central Minnesota Conference game. This improved their record to 2-9 overall with their second straight win. In the CMC, the Jaguars hold a 1-3 record, while the Irish fell to 0-12 overall (0-5 CMC). Next: the boys' basketball team travels the short trip into Swift County on Thursday this week for a border battle at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (4-6, 2-4 Camden North). They have a key CMC game the next day at Royalton (5-5, 1-3) in the second of a brutal four-game road swing. They travel to Upsala next Tuesday and then Paynesville Area (7-5, 3-1) on Thursday, January 23.

At a home triangular in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team was defeated by Osakis 44-29 in the first event of the night. The Silverstreaks, who compete in Section 6A, then beat Eden Valley-Watkins to improve to 10-5 overall. In the final dual, the Jaguars defeated Eden Valley-Watkins 50-21 to improve to 3-6 overall. The Eagles, who compete in Section 4A in the playoffs, fell to 6-8 overall. Next: the wrestling team travels south to the New London-Spicer Invitational on Friday this week with a start time of 3:30 p.m.

In a road CMC game at Maple Lake tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team shook off a rough first half of play while earning a 69-48 win over the Irish. The Jaguars shot just 23 percent in the first half and sat in a 29-29 tie at halftime. Bree Thieschafer led the Jaguars with 18 points on 8-of-14 field goal shooting plus 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Next: the girls' basketball team (10-5, 5-1) has their biggest game of the season so far when Royalton comes to Belgrade on Thursday this week. A win by B-B-E would pull them into a virtual first-place tie in the CMC with the Royals (11-0, 5-0) and Holdingford (10-4, 5-1).

That's it. Time to finish the newspaper for the printing press.

**Thursday night this week...
the dance team competes at home at 6 p.m. at the elementary school.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 14:
Eden Valley-Watkins 54, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 41 (game played on Monday this week)
Royalton 71, Rocori 36 (game played on Monday this week)

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 14:
Eden Valley-Watkins 62, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48
Holdingford 63, Kimball Area 43 (Kimball's first CMC loss of the season)
Paynesville Area 79, Royalton 54

Area girls' basketball scores on January 14:
Pequot Lakes 54, Holdingford 50
Melrose Area 64, Paynesville Area 61
Annandale 41, Kimball Area 38
Upsala 68, Mille Lacs 22
New London-Spicer 74, Litchfield 35
Lac qui Parle Valley 52, Benson 38
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 80, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 32
Bertha-Hewitt 67, Verndale 33
Braham 71, Foley 57
Minnewaska Area 59, BOLD 54
Redwood Valley 55, Montevideo 51
Osakis 54, Swanville 35
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 57, Underwood 42
Hancock 85, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 26
Pine River-Backus 87, Browerville 30

Area boys' basketball scores on January 14:
Upsala 75, Mille Lacs 42
Sauk Centre 67, Annandale 63
Litchfield 66, New London-Spicer 50
Underwood 71, Brandon-Evansville 60
Henning 72, Browerville 59
Montevideo 80, Redwood Valley 59
Hancock 62, Rothsay 38
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 67, Parkers Prairie 36
Border West 76, Battle Lake 52
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 86, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 57

GAME NIGHT and then some in Jaguar Country

Too busy to post much here...lots of events tonight. Now, it's time to head to Maple Lake before returning for home wrestling triangular action in Belgrade. I'll blog again once I'm in Maple Lake to update this post.

Update at halftime in Maple Lake: the girls' basketball team sits in a 29-29 tie with the Irish, who entered the game with a 2-10 overall record. On the home mats back in Belgrade, the wrestling team lost in the first dual of the triangular to Osakis. More to come in a NEW blog post after 9 p.m.

Pirouettes shine again - now FIVE for FIVE! plus Winter Sports Show No. 5 (VIDEOS**)

Today, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team made it an unprecedented five straight for competitions where they've hauled home hardware. Both the JV kick (first place) and JV jazz (second place) squads were outstanding in the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Invitational. Next for the dance team is their home competition next Thursday, January 16 - details TBA.

Here's a video featuring the JV Kick squad at Alexandria one week ago:


In a tough field out of 7 teams in Alexandria, the JV Kick Pirouettes earned a second-place trophy.

More to come. After a lengthy break from recording them, I'm back in the swing of things and am preparing a new sports podcast for tonight.

**And fresh from the sports department's recording studio! Here it is:


As I stated multiple times in the video...repeat after me! Be a good teammate. Be a good teammate. Be a good teammate!

And circling back to last night in girls' basketball action...

Here's part of the starter introductions last night in Grove City, plus the tip-off and first few minutes of the game:


Tomorrow, the 5th grade girls' basketball team is heading to Benson for a tournament. No rest for the restless!

Area girls' basketball scores on January 11:
Mountain Iron-Buhl 77, Braham 65
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 57, Park Christian 48
Sauk Centre 67, Montevideo 38
Cass Lake-Bena 73, Perham 63
Wabasso 57, Red Rock Central 47
Willmar 71, Mound Westonka 42

Area boys' basketball scores on January 11:
West Central Area 60, Ada-Borup West 56
Redwood Valley 84, Delano 76
Hutchinson 54, Worthington 53
Cherry 78, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 64
Nevis 63, Henning 57
Park Christian 55, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 49
BOLD 60, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 22

This was a 5-and-0 night! (VIDEO)

How was it a 5-0 night? I'll take a little time to get through it all. Video is uploading from Grove City. ALSO...Saturday...this took me away from sports, but it was a great event....my wife and I attended a University of Minnesota event at Redhead Creamery. (Website: https://redheadcreamery.com.) We had a tremendous time! Now, Saturday afternoon, time to get to Eden Valley for youth girls' basketball action.

Friday night...
In a Central Minnesota Conference road game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team faced a hard-nosed Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons squad that kept things tight through the entire first half of play. At the break, the Jaguars held a 26-21 lead. They built a lead as large as 19 points in the second half on their way to a 57-48 win.

Early in the first half, the Jaguars led 11-5 with just over 13 minutes to go. Three minutes later, the Falcons took a 12-11 lead on a three-pointer. One minute after that, with 10 minutes to go, Tiffany Dingmann drained an open three-pointer at the top of the key just before the shot clock expired. This gave the Jaguars a 14-12 lead. A defensive battle played out across the last 9 minutes of the game. With 7:35 left, A-C-GC's talented junior forward Ruby Klinger scored in the paint to put her squad in front 16-14.

B-B-E had a 7-0 scoring run capped by a shot by Bree Thieschafer with 6:20 left. The 21-16 lead shrunk to 21-19, and the Jaguars scored 5 of the last 7 points made to lead 26-21 at halftime.

A wicked full court press made a wreck of A-C-GC as the second half got underway. The Falcons struggled to establish passing lanes and quickly fell back 36-21. With 14:45 left, Thieschafer's layup capped a 10-0 scoring run that put the Jaguars ahead 36-21.

Here's a video from late in the 2nd half at ACGC tonight, with just under 5 minutes to go in the game


A-C-GC, whose tough, physical defense held B-B-E to cold 26 percent field goal shooting, fell to 3-6 overall (1-4 CMC), while B-B-E improved to 9-5 overall (5-1 CMC). Next: the girls' basketball team travels to Maple Lake (2-9, 0-5) next Tuesday for a CMC game.

In northeastern Grant County tonight...
In their best performance of the season, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played an incredible game from start to finish and recorded a 58-44 win against Ashby on the road. The Jaguars are 1-10 overall, while the Arrows fall to 6-4 with their fourth straight loss. B-B-E's defense was terrific the entire game, and they held Ashby's top scorer, senior guard Easton Nelson, to 7 points. The Jaguars were led by Taylor Pieper's 17 points. Josh Walstrom had 14 points, and Luke Illies scored 13 points.

The Jaguars shot 33 percent from the field with 5-of-25 marks beyond the arc. They were 11-for-21 at the free throw line. Ashby shot 35 percent, including 8-of-27 marks beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Arrows were 0-for-4 in the game. B-B-E out-rebounded Ashby 43 to 21. Sophomore forward Traeton Nelson led his team with 22 points as the lone Arrow player in double figures.

Next: the boys' basketball team hosts Maple Lake (0-10) next Tuesday in a CMC game.

Update on Saturday afternoon...
The 5-0 record comes from the JV boys' basketball team also winning in Ashby...PLUS! The JV girls' basketball team won 40-35 in Grove City, and the C-squad Class of 2029 Jaguars prevailed in a nailbiter by a 25-21 score. They had trailed 21-17 before clamping down defensively in the final stretch! WooHoo!

I have to catch up with how the wrestlers did at Minnewaska Area.

And now for wrestling news!
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned a third-place finish in a tough 11-team field at Minnewaska Area tonight. They finished with 147 points, just behind runner-up Thief River Falls's 149 points. Little Falls, ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 2A Guillotine rankings, won the team title with 208 points. The host Lakers were in fourth with 134 points.

The Thief River Falls Prowlers wrestling team, which competes in Section 8AA, is a co-op team that includes athletes from high schools in Goodridge, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Marshall County Central and Red Lake County Central.

Individual results by weight division:
107: Noah Jensen 1st place.
114: Noah Welte 2nd place.
121: Noah DeRoo 5th place.
127: Jace Mueller 4th place.
133: Logan Oeltjenbruns 5th place.
139: Louie Tensen 3rd place.
145: Dylan Koob did not place.
152: Andrew Spanier 6th place.
160: Brett DeRoo 1st place.
172: open.
189: Hunter Laage 3rd place.
215: Carson Gilbert 1st place.
285: Eli Wold 6th place.

Looking ahead...
Tomorrow, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team travels to the A-C-GC Invitational. The competition gets underway at 11 a.m. at A-C-GC high school.

GAME NIGHT in Meeker, Douglas and Pope counties (VIDEO)

They are spread all across central Minnesota!

Tonight, in Meeker County, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team plays in the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City high school in Grove City. They take on the Falcons (3-5) in a Central Minnesota Conference game.

At Ashby, the boys' basketball team plays, while the wrestlers are at the Minnewaska Invitational.

Here's a clip from the second half of the Paynesville game on Tuesday this week:


Today, the community held a tremendous going-away celebration for Suzanne Sagedahl, who passed away last Sunday after an 18-year battle with cancer. The funeral service, which held the form of a true celebration of her life, was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten. She was a 1974 graduate of Brooten who has a feature article on her athletic career in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

GAME updates to follow here later tonight...
**With 3:30 left before halftime, the Jaguars are ahead 21-18.

**Halftime: BBE 25, ACGC 21.

At Ashby, the boys' basketball team has a 31-24 lead at halftime. 

Boys final: B-B-E 58, Ashby 44.

Girls final: B-B-E 57, ACGC 48.

Jaguars suffer through difficult second half (VIDEOS**)

A rough second half of play doomed the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team as they surrendered 39 points after halftime to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. They were held scoreless for an 8-minute stretch across the last 6 minutes of the first half and the first portion of the second half. Final: A-C-GC 65, B-B-E 38.

A-C-GC improved to 6-2 overall; they are currently averaging 72 points per game and are ranked the 6th-best (QRF) team in Section 2A.

Here's a video featuring the last 20 seconds of the first half tonight:


How the game developed...
A-C-GC led 4-0 out of the gate, but the Jaguars gained their first lead after Luke Illies made a three-pointer and Josh Walstrom scored on a mid-range shot for a 5-4 lead with 2 minutes played. The Falcons pulled ahead 11-7, but Owen Radermacher cut that to one point with a three-pointer with 8:51 to go. Walstrom's layup made it a 13-12 deficit, but Taylor Pieper canned a three with 6:08 to go for a 15-14 lead.

A costly scoring drought lasted the rest of the first half. The Falcons then scored the first two field goals of the second half to stretch their lead to 30-15. Walstrom scored on a layup with 15:45 left to break the dry spell, but the deficit swelled to 36-19 just a minute later.

Across the next 3 minutes of the game, the Falcons pushed their lead to 47-25, and the Jaguars were unable to cut it to less than 20 points across the final 10 minutes of the game.

Late in the game, a moment to celebrate took place when Carson Savage subbed in to shoot three free throws. The senior made 2 of them, which marked a triumphant return to action roughly 3 months after he suffered a serious broken leg injury. Back on October 4, he broke his leg in the 4th quarter of the football game at Browerville. He received special cheers from the student section when Coach Rambow subbed him in. That was fun to see!

A-C-GC finished with 50 percent field goal shooting, while the Jaguars shot 33 percent in both halves.

Here's a video featuring the pep band performing the National Anthem followed by the starter introductions, tip-off and the opening minutes of the first half:


Next: the Jaguars travel to Ashby (6-3, 4-2 Little Eight Conference) tomorrow night for a sub-section game with the Arrows.

ALSO ON FRIDAY night...the girls' basketball team travels to A-C-GC high school in Grove City, and the wrestling team is at the Minnewaska Area Invitational (4 p.m.).

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 9:
Royalton 71, Paynesville Area 49 (in a big road win, Royals stay perfect at 10-0 and are 5-0 in the CMC)
Eden Valley-Watkins 65, Maple Lake 32

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 9:
Kimball Area 74, Paynesville Area 69
Holdingford 80, Royalton 50
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Maple Lake 51

Area boys' basketball scores on January 9:
BOLD 54, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 47
Montevideo 70, Benson 36
Sauk Centre 45, Melrose Area 41
Swanville 64, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 46
Border West 71, Ashby 48
Underwood 67, Battle Lake 27
Osakis 61, Browerville 57
Alexandria 90, Fergus Falls 46
Brandon-Evansville 63, Rothsay 57
Hancock 87, Parkers Prairie 55
West Central Area 72, Minnewaska Area 55
Central MN Christian 65, MACCRAY 52
Lac qui Parle Valley 76, Milbank SD 66

Area girls' basketball scores on January 9:
Ogilvie 57, Mora 42
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48, Litchfield 34
West Central Area 64, Osakis 40
St. Cloud Cathedral 69, Melrose Area 57
Parkers Prairie 61, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 56
Cass Lake-Bena 90, Pine River-Backus 57
MACCRAY 57, Canby 54
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 83, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 30
Renville County West 66, Dawson-Boyd 57
Central MN Christian 67, Minneota 53
Lakeview 61, Lac qui Parle Valley 41

It's GAME NIGHT! in Jaguar Country

Tonight's home contest between our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team and the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons will be aired on The Train 106.5 FM of Norway Lake-Sunburg. Their website is https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train. Also! The Pep Band is in action! Busy night!

Game updates to follow here...
**With just under 9 minutes to go, the Falcons are ahead 11 to 10.

Halftime: A-C-GC 26, B-B-E 15. More to come in a new blog post later tonight.

Two big varsity wins! (VIDEO)

This was a highly successful night!

First, at Benson in a key Section 5A dual, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team had numerous stellar performances up and down the lineup while defeating the Braves 40-36. The win was clinched when Hunter Laage pinned Taylor Ellingson with a time of 2:46. That pin put the Jaguars ahead 40-30 going into heavyweight. Next: the wrestling team travels to Minnewaska Area this Friday night for an invitational that starts at 4 p.m.

In a home Central Minnesota Conference game tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team defeated Paynesville Area 73-56. They led 38-29 at halftime and finished with a 39 percent field goal shooting mark. Adley Hagen led the Jaguars with 22 points, while Kacey Fischer finished with a tremendous double-double of 15 points and 19 rebounds. Next: the girls' basketball team travels to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (2-5, 1-3) this Friday night to resume CMC action. In the CMC, they hold a 4-1 record to sit in second place. They are 8-5 overall and now winners of four straight.

Here's action from the opening minutes of the first half tonight in Belgrade:


How the border battle played out...
The Bulldogs fought hard throughout the entire first half and held early leads of 5-2, 9-7 and 12-10. Two free throws by Hagen with 12:55 left tied the game at 12-12. Kylie Pauls, one of Paynesville's five talented seniors, tied the game at 15-15 with 11:10 left on a three-pointer. The Jaguars began to take charge across the next 2 minutes of play as they exploded with a 7-0 run in a span of under 40 seconds. Bree Thieschafer's three-pointer with 9:12 left gave the Jaguars a 23-15 lead.

After the Bulldogs narrowed the gap to 28-24, Kacey Fischer drained two free throws plus a cleanup shot for a 33-24 advantage. Tiffany Dingmann's corner three-pointer with 2 minutes to go pushed the lead to 35-26. A late three-pointer by Grace Roberg cut B-B-E's lead to 38-29 right before halftime.

Thieschafer canned another three-pointer early in the second half that gave the Jaguars a 41-31 lead with 15:25 to go. Two Kacey Fischer free throws and her shot in the paint were followed by a shot from Hagen to cap off a 9-0 scoring run. Paynesville senior Rayna Spanier's three-pointer made it 47-34, but the Jaguars went on a scoring rampage across the next 6-plus minutes. A three-pointer on the left wing by Teagan Dingmann with 7:40 left gave the Jaguars a commanding 62-37 lead as the game was put out of reach for the visitors.

For the first conference meeting of B-B-E and Paynesville, the Jaguars earned a three-game sweep tonight. The C-squad Jaguars (Class of 2029 eighth graders) defeated the Bulldogs 25-20, and the JV Jaguars won 47-33.

Paynesville Area (1-10 overall) hosts Royalton this week Thursday. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out in spite of the wide differences in each team's record. The Royals were 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the CMC coming into tonight's home game with A-C-GC.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 7:
Holdingford 58, Maple Lake 32
Royalton 61, A-C-GC 34
Kimball Area 52, Eden Valley-Watkins 37

More to come...but likely not until the morning. I have a newspaper to get ready for the printing press!

Area girls' basketball scores on January 7:
Underwood 51, Brandon-Evansville 37
Braham 80, Pine City 44
Bertha-Hewitt 62, Swanville 57
Sauk Centre 65, BOLD 47
Montevideo 60, Melrose Area 36
Minnewaska Area 86, Benson 28
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 59, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 47

Home cooking on Tuesday night (VIDEOS)

We have home cooking on Tuesday this week for our No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, as they are set to host Paynesville Area (1-9, 1-2) in another Central Minnesota Conference game. Paynesville's lone win was against Eden Valley-Watkins on December 12 in Eden Valley by a 57-42 score. The Jaguars are very much still in the race for the Central Minnesota Conference title, but they need to stay in the "one loss" column to keep pace with front-runner Royalton.

The Jaguars are 7-5 overall and winners of three straight. In the CMC, the Jaguars are 3-1 and in a tie for second place with Holdingford. Royalton is in first place with a 3-0 record (8-0 overall). B-B-E and Royalton won't meet until January 16 in Belgrade, and the rematch for those teams is on Tuesday, February 18 in Royalton.

Also on Tuesday, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is in action with a road trip to Benson for a Section 5A match up. The Jaguars were ranked No. 10 in the latest Class 1A Guillotine rankings. Also! Congratulations to seniors Brett DeRoo and Carson Gilbert, as they both earned their 150th career win during their respective championship matches on Friday at the home invitational.

Let's jazz up this blog post with some video...added on Tuesday afternoon.

Here's a video from Friday night in Eden Valley:


I hope you enjoy the marvelous performance of the National Anthem by an EV-W high school student.

And here's a shorter video clip recorded with just over 4 minutes left in the opening half at EV-W:


...and shifting gears to the next day.

Here's a video recorded in the heart of Colfax Township, rural New London, this past Saturday night:


The Smilin' D Arena and Events center received recent Bonanza Valley Voice coverage from a youth event held in December. They'll get more ink this week from a bull riding event they had on Saturday night to help kick off the new year in style!

In other news...here's recent job openings that are posted in the newspaper: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/classifieds/category/employment.

In college basketball news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team, ranked No. 2 in the latest NJCAA Division III polls, earned a 104-62 win on Saturday on their home court against Minnesota North College-Vermillion. The Pioneers (11-4 overall) led 57-34 at halftime and expanded that to 82-45 by the end of the third quarter. Sophomore Tiyana Schwinghammer played 24 minutes and scored 16 points with 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 2 assists and 1 steal.

In a home game on Saturday, the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons women's basketball team suffered from cold 29 percent field goal shooting in a 74-50 loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Sophomore Abby Berge scored 7 points. The Dragons fell to 6-8 overall and 4-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. On Friday night, the MSU-M Dragons lost 78-54 to No. 16-ranked Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Bears (13-1, 7-1) held a 45-18 lead at halftime. Berge had 7 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Area girls' basketball scores on Saturday, January 4:
Central MN Christian 62, Paynesville Area 37 (at Target Center)
Albany 51, Detroit Lakes 39
Monticello 63, Willmar 48
Mountain Iron-Buhl 76, Brandon-Evansville 48
Barnum 61, Mora 58
Becker 65, Rock Ridge 57
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 68, Benson 30
Lakeview 44, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 40

Area boys' basketball scores on Saturday, January 4:
Holdingford 72, Little Falls 58 (the Huskers are off to a 7-2 start with their best record at this point in a season since 2019-2020 when they finished 12-16)
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 62, Lakeview 51
Upsala 69, Swanville 67
Dawson-Boyd 80, Southwest MN Christian 45
West Central Area 69, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 53
Paynesville Area 79, Central MN Christian 76 (at Target Center)
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 90, Benson 83 (two overtimes!)