CMC series sweep (VIDEOS *Updated)

In a game that went down to the wire, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team completed a Central Minnesota Conference series sweep tonight. After trailing visiting Royalton 43-33 with 9:24 remaining, a Herculean effort down the stretch propelled them to a 51-49 win.

The Jaguars improve to 9-15 overall and 6-7 in the CMC, which is good for a tie for fourth place with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. Next: a home game next Tuesday against Paynesville Area.

Here's a video featuring the final 3 seconds of the game...


The Royals fall to 7-17 overall and 3-10 in the CMC.

How the first half played out...
A little over 3 minutes into the game, the Jaguars had an 8-4 lead. Royalton junior Jason Albright knocked down a three-pointer with 14 minutes left, and the Royals then took a 9-8 lead on a layup 1 minute later. The Royals slowly stretched the lead to 6 points across the next 6 minutes of the game. Trailing 17-11, the Jaguars scored 7 straight points, and a three-pointer by Josh Walstrom with 4:20 left put them ahead 20-17.

The Royals tied the game at 20-20 and then 24-24 before Taylor Pieper's three-point play put the Jaguars up 27-24 with 1:10 left. In the game's last 45 seconds, Royalton scored unanswered buckets to take a 28-27 lead into halftime. Leading the Jaguars in the first half were Lance Radermacher (9 points) and Josh Walstrom (6 points).

Here's action from later in the first half tonight:


The video begins with about 3:40 left in the first half. Lance Radermacher had just scored to give the Jaguars a 20-18 lead.

Second half notes from tonight's game...
Dominic Ramos scored in the lane for the first bucket of the second half, but B-B-E's one-point lead was short-lived. The Royals went on an 8-2 run capped by Braedon Hansen's three-pointer that put them up 36-31 with 12:53 to go. Luke Illies scored a bucket, but the Jaguars went over 3 minutes without scoring while Royalton expanded their lead to 43-33 on two free throws with 9:24 left.

Illies drained a three with 5:45 left, and Josh Walstrom went 2-for-2 at the line with 3:46 left. Walstrom then scored in the paint, and Illies canned another three-pointer that put the Jaguars on top 48-47 with 2:34 to go.

After falling behind 49-48 in the closing minute, Illies scored for the game's final lead change. Walstrom made one free throw with 3 seconds left for the game's final margin. Illies led the team with 18 points. They shot 36 percent on field goals, with Illies draining 4 of the team's 6 threes in the game. At the line, the Jaguars shot 9-for-16.

Friday afternoon update...
Additional B-B-E speech team coverage has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/8vcVt.

For the upcoming Brooten city council meeting, you can view the agenda by clicking over to my editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 20:
Holdingford 90, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 67
Eden Valley-Watkins 76, Kimball Area 64
Paynesville Area 95, Maple Lake 53

Area boys' basketball scores on February 20:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 74, New London-Spicer 60
Rothsay 66, Tri-State 47
Battle Lake 70, Parkers Prairie 59
Willmar 81, St. Cloud Tech 74
Browerville 87, Sebeka 50
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 63, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 29
Brandon-Evansville 80, Lake Park-Audubon 62
Dawson-Boyd 80, Montevideo 66
Luverne 91, Minneota 60

GAME NIGHT in Jaguar Country!

Tonight's Central Minnesota Conference game for our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They stream online, and their website is https://www.kmgk1071.com. The opponent will be the Royalton Royals. Also, B-B-E's Pep Band will also perform prior to tip-off.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website is being updated with new stories: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Also! The newspaper website's employment listings have been recently updated. You can find the listing by clicking here: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/classifieds/category/employment.


**With under 1 minute to go in the varsity game, the Royals are ahead 49 to 48. More to come in a new blog post, including the final score.

A win and a loss (VIDEO)

Success at "Fort Knox" for the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team!

After playing to an 18-18 halftime draw, the boys' basketball team rallied with a terrific second half. Final: B-B-E 61, NL-S 54. Keys to the win: the Jaguars cranked up the offense in the second half, when they shot 42 percent from the floor while also going 12-for-17 at the line. In the first half, they shot just 2 free throws while earning a frigid field goal mark of just 28 percent.

Senior Josh Walstrom led the Jaguars with 20 points after going 9-of-13 at the free throw line. Also in double figures: Taylor Pieper with 18 points and Luke Illies with 11 points. The Jaguars shot 36 percent on field goals for the game while draining 6 three-pointers. At the line, they shot 13-for-19.

Next: the Jaguars (8-15) host Royalton in a Central Minnesota Conference game on Thursday this week.

The Wildcats fell to 1-23 overall. Gavin Vick, a 6'4" sophomore post, led the Wildcats with 14 points. Brayden Skindelien, a 5'11" junior guard, added 11 points.

In girls' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has completed one of their best-ever regular seasons in program history. After a 56-32 loss tonight at Royalton, the Jaguars take an 18-8 overall record into the upcoming Sub-Section 5A-East playoffs. In the CMC, the Jaguars went 11-3 to take second place alone. The 11-3 record is the third-best ever for the team. They finished 12-2 in two previous seasons in the CMC and 14-0 one time (2020-2021 in the COVID season).

The 18-8 regular season record is the fourth-best ever for a B-B-E girls' basketball team. Overall, this is the fourth time they were 18-8 heading into playoffs; other seasons were 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. The regular season record for most wins was set 2 years ago, 2022-2023, when the team was 21-4 heading into the postseason.

In tonight's game, Kacey Fischer led the Jaguars with a hard-earned double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Here's a video recorded early in the first half tonight at RHS:


Next: the Jaguars host a Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinal game on Thursday, February 27. Tip-off at B-B-E high school in Belgrade is at 7 p.m. against an opponent to-be-determined. Seeding by QRF takes place on Saturday, February 22. B-B-E has a lock on the No. 2 seed.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 18:
Holdingford 45, Kimball Area 42 (Huskers clinch 3rd place alone in the CMC, while the Cubs finish in 4th place)
Eden Valley-Watkins 63, Maple Lake 35
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 60, Paynesville Area 39

GAME NIGHT! In Morrison County and in Wildcat Country (VIDEO, UPDATES!)

Two road games of differing complexions are set to play out tonight. Both should be entertaining for fans!

First, I want to share the Belgrade City Council meeting agenda, which is posted at the newspaper's editor blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com. The council meets tonight at 6 p.m.

Tonight's basketball action on the road...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team (18-7 overall) travels to Royalton to conclude their regular season. The Royals are undefeated with a 24-0 record. They recently locked up the Central Minnesota Conference title alone with just tonight's game left. They also have a non-conference game before the Section 6AA playoffs begin. In Section 6AA, the Royals are currently ranked No. 2 out of 16 teams.

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a short trip south for a border battle against New London-Spicer. GAME UPDATES to follow this evening as I am able to post. Fingers crossed!

Here's a video from last Friday with the varsity game getting underway after the National Anthem was played...


Game updates to follow!

Update from Morrison County...
First off, that was quite a road trip! I think I'm mostly spoiled with mostly 25 to 45-minute long road trips (usually)...this seemed to take forever! There's only about 18 routes you can use to get from Brooten to Royalton. It was great to finally arrive at Royalton high school, where they have convenient parking and great facilities to take in basketball games.

In the JV game, the Jaguars trailed 18-13 at halftime. Final: Royalton 40, B-B-E 30. According to game reports, the Jaguars were ice cold from the floor.

In the C-squad game, the Jaguars won 38-36 in a thriller! They trailed 35-31 with 2:35 to go.

Varsity updates...the girls' basketball team trails 25-18 with 3:28 to go. Coach Anderson just called a timeout.

Halftime: Royalton 28, B-B-E 21. The Jaguars have shot poorly for the latter 15 minutes of the half.

In the second half...the game has gotten out of hand! It is very, very physical. This is a rivalry game, and it is showing. B-B-E's shots are just the bare inch off on most tries. They are gutting it out. You want the game to be done, and get the playoff march underway!

ANNOUNCEMENT: B-B-E schools is 2 hours late for Wednesday, February 19. Also! A note: the Jaguar Coffee Club at the elementary school is cancelled for Wednesday, February 19. Please pass the word!

At 9 p.m., we are leaving Royalton. More to come in a new blog post, including final scores from both varsity games.

Jagtastic speech invitational (VIDEO ADDED*)

The B-B-E speech team is hosting the first-ever Jagtastic Invitational today. Approximately 87 high school speech team members from across central Minnesota are in attendance. Results will be posted on this blog post. The awards ceremony is set to begin at about 3:50 p.m. at Olson Auditorium.

In Duo Interpretation, Marlie Schlangen and Eliana Funes took sixth place. In Great Speeches, Tia Nelson took first place.

Here's a video featuring top 5 finishes in the Great Speeches category on Saturday:


Other information will be posted this evening. Video will also be added! (Has been added*!) Right now, it's time to manually wash our Chevy Suburban and get it into our heated garage!

Monday night update: due to the cold weather, B-B-E schools will open 2 hours late on Tuesday, February 18. As of 8:30 p.m. on Monday night, temperatures across the Bonanza Valley area have plunged to below negative 15 degrees. The forecast says that temperatures will reach 25 below zero tonight.

Two CMC basketball wins (VIDEO)

As they look to continue to climb in the Central Minnesota Conference standings, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team knew they had to take care of business and continue the trajectory of improvement they've been on in recent weeks. In a road game at Maple Lake tonight, the Jaguars did just that as they completely dismantled a two-win Irish team in a "double-up" win by a 68-34 score.

Taylor Pieper and Josh Walstrom each scored 18 points to pace the Jaguars.

In the first half, the Jaguars shot the lights out with 58 percent field goal shooting as they built a 45-16 lead by the break. Next: the Jaguars (7-15, 5-7 CMC) have a border battle game next Tuesday, February 18 at New London-Spicer (1-21).

On the home floor tonight for Parents and Seniors night, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team came on like gangbusters in the first half during a 67-51 win against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Falcons led 20-10 with 8:40 left in the first half before the Jaguars went into "lock down" defensive mode and built a 38-24 halftime lead. With 4:30 left before halftime, Bree Thieschafer drained a one-handed floater on a drive from the right wing to force a 20-20 tie. The Jaguars were surging with a 17-0 run going before the Falcons got a fastbreak shot to make it a 27-22 score.

As the second half got rolling, the Jaguars had a 9-2 run for a 47-28 lead. A-C-GC could get no closer than a 13-point deficit the rest of the way.

Thieschafer was the leading scorer with 20 points. The Jaguars have now won six straight games.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Next: the girls' basketball team (18-7, 11-2) travels to undefeated Royalton next Tuesday to conclude the regular season. In the latest Minnesota Basketball News state rankings, the Jaguars moved up to No. 7 in Class 1A. By the QRF rankings, the Jaguars have climbed to No. 15.

In a Central Minnesota Conference game played last night in Royalton, the host Royals defeated Paynesville Area 60-33 to clinch the title outright. Royalton was also solo CMC champions in the 2019-2020 season, when they went 23-6 overall and 13-1 in the CMC. They finished one game ahead of runner-up Eden Valley-Watkins that season, which was their inaugural season in the CMC. In 2018-2019, the Royals played in their last season as members of the Prairie Conference and finished as co-champions with Swanville.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 14:
Holdingford 86, Kimball Area 68
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 73, Eden Valley-Watkins 57
Paynesville Area 85, Royalton 76

Area girls' basketball scores on February 14:
Maple Lake 50, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 44
New London-Spicer 70, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 50
Minnewaska Area 61, West Centra Area 50
Pine River-Backus 59, Cass Lake-Bena 45

GAME NIGHT! and more (And radio!)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has their hands full tonight against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The visiting Falcons hold a 20-10 lead with just over 8 minutes to go in the opening half. This is Parents and Seniors Night. Also! This game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!) Online at https://www.kmgk1071.com.

Later in the first half...the Jaguars rallied and cut the deficit down to 20-18 with a field goal by Adley Hagen at the 5:00 mark.

In the first game of the night, the B-B-E C-squad Class of 2029 Jaguars came back from a 13-6 deficit in the first half to win 24-21. The JV Jaguars earned a win by a wide margin with a final score of 51-28.

At Maple Lake tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team holds a 45-16 lead at halftime.

More to come...later tonight in a new blog post after 9 p.m.

Playoff opener loss by the smallest margin (VIDEOS)

For the first time in 9 years, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will not compete in the Section 5A Final Four.

The Jaguars were facing an uphill climb by the upper weights and trailed 34-18 after the 172-pound match. At 189, Ethan Mueller won by a decision, and the Jaguars pinned out from there at 215 and 285 pounds - Hunter Laage and Carson Gilbert.

Final: K-M-S 34, B-B-E 33.

And a quick shift of your attention to Valentine's Day...
Numerous businesses have advertised Valentine's Day in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I've got a summary of food and entertainment options for Friday night posted at the newspaper website (click): https://shorturl.at/MEqVb.

The Jaguars had a 6-0 lead after 107, but a penalty point at 114 ultimately cost them the win. Next is the individual section wrestling tournament in Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine East high school) on Saturday, February 22. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. that morning.

Here's a video featuring part of the singing of the National Anthem plus player introductions:


The Jaguars finish 7-13 overall.

In 2015, the Jaguars advanced to the Section 5A championship but lost to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. That was the team's first appearance in the section finals since 1999. In 2016, the Jaguars lost 36-27 to Royalton/Upsala in the opening round of the section playoffs. For the next eight seasons, the Jaguars earned Final Four appearances in Section 5A. That streak ended tonight.

Here's a video from the 152-pound match tonight:


After the Jaguars had an open weight at 172 pounds, Ethan Mueller won a 4-2 decision over Aaron Jones that cut the K-M-S lead to 34-21.

In other Section 5A wrestling quarterfinal matches tonight...
Minneota defeated BOLD 65-9. BOLD advanced to the section quarterfinals with a 42-31 win against Quad County earlier tonight.

At Paynesville, the Bulldogs defeated Benson 43-21. In Canby, the Lancers defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40-26.

Some other sports programming notes...
For tomorrow's action at B-B-E high school, the C-squad girls' basketball Class of 2029 Jaguars will play Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City starting at 4:30 p.m. at the main gymnasium. Once their game is complete, the JV Jaguars will face A-C-GC, and the varsity game will follow that. It is also Parents and Seniors Night. And! The varsity game will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Their website is: https://www.kmgk1071.com.

This is playoff night for the Jaguars (UPDATES)

The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team begins their quest for a sixth straight Section 5A championship appearance tonight with a short trip south to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg high school. The Jaguars face the Fighting Saints (11-3) of Swift County in the Section 5A quarterfinals, and action begins at 7 p.m. This is the evening's only varsity action for Jaguar Country fans.

On February 15, 2019, the Jaguars lost 49-15 in the Section 5A semifinals to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. Since then, they have appeared in five straight Section 5A championship matches. In 2020, LPGE/Browerville defeated the Jaguars 31-18 to advance to state for the third straight season. In 2021, the Jaguars avenged the 2020 loss and won the Section 5A title for the school's first team wrestling state appearance. The 2021 Section 5A championship match was won by the Jaguars, who beat LPGE/Browerville 33-23 at West Central Area high school. They finished 28-4 overall that winter while also earning the Central Minnesota Conference title.

**Going into 189, the Jaguars trailed 18-34. 

More to come in a new blog post. Time to head home.

Boys' hoops win shootout at A-C-GC

In a wild shootout in Central Minnesota Conference action tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team held off a second-half rally by Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in an 80-77 win. The host Falcons entered the game with a 5-5 record in the CMC, which was good for fourth place. The win improves B-B-E's record to 4-7 in the CMC (6-15 overall).

The Jaguars led 34-23 at halftime, and both teams combined for 16 three-point makes in the second half.

In a CMC boys' basketball game played last night in Royalton, the Holdingford Huskers earned their 17th straight win by defeating the host Royals 81-59. It was Royalton's fourth loss in a row.

In tonight's games...
At Paynesville Area, Kimball Area expanded a 33-30 halftime lead into a convincing win by a 72-55 score over the Bulldogs.

Area boys' basketball scores on February 11:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 67, New London-Spicer 61
Sebeka 60, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 45
Minnewaska Area 85, Benson 67
Sauk Centre 64, Osakis 51
Underwood 88, Battle Lake 51
Border West 85, Ashby 51

B-B-E High School Sno-Daze coronation (VIDEO)

The 35th annual B-B-E Sno-Daze King and Queen are Jack Lundberg and Emery Halvorson. The video of the crowning can be seen at the following link, which redirects you to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/8hyfJ. Additional Sno-Daze coverage is posted to that web article and will also appear in the February 13 and February 20 issues of The Voice.

In spite of the cold weather, we are going to have a terrific Sno-Daze week in Jaguar Country!

To the previous blog post about basketball last night...I added a video clip from the Paynesville game last Friday. More to follow much later tonight. I still have a mountain of work to do on the February 13 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice print edition.

Another CMC series sweep! (VIDEOS)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team prevailed in another Central Minnesota Conference contest. Tonight, at Kimball Area, the Jaguars won 61-55! They earned the huge CMC win after trailing the Cubs 32-30 at halftime. B-B-E is now 17-7 overall and 10-2 in the CMC. Kimball falls to 13-9 overall and 7-5 in the CMC.

Key statistics tonight...
Outstanding second-half defense plus 7-of-9 shooting at the free throw line over the last 18 minutes led to the CMC series sweep. Bree Thieschafer led the Jaguars with 17 points plus 6 steals and 4 rebounds. Fellow senior Adley Hagen dropped in 15 points plus 5 steals and 4 rebounds. Also, a big key to the win was keeping turnovers to under 20, with 17 showing on the final scorebox. The Jaguars shot a cold 31 percent from the floor, but Teagan Dingmann's three triples for the game (on 5 attempts beyond the arc) also made a huge impact.

NEXT: a big night for Valentine's Day! This Friday, the Jaguars have their next game with Parents and Seniors Night. It will be a grand evening for the program. The opponent will be a tough-as-nails Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons squad. Not only will their standing in the CMC be at stake, but the current five-game winning streak will be on the line. A-C-GC is 8-13 overall and 3-9 (sixth) in the CMC.

Here's a 5-minute video from the tail end of the EV-W win last week...


In that video clip, EV-W senior Brinn Kuechle made 1 of 2 double bonus free throws to tie the game at 49-49 with 1:21 to go. Just 15 seconds later, Kacey Fischer made a great move in the low post to score on a feed from Teagan Dingmann to break the tie. On EV-W's next possession, they worked the shot clock while making numerous good passes to seek out a high percentage shot. As the shot clock was about to expire, they settled for a wide left baseline shot that rolled off the rim. With two Kimball players surrounding her, Bree Thieschafer made an attempt at a defensive rebound, and the Kimball players knocked the ball out of bounds. The Jaguars had possession with 26.5 seconds to go and the full length of the court to work the ball down. With EV-W head coach Tom Jansen yelling for the pressure to be applied, the Jaguars passed the ball around the half court. With 8 seconds left, Kacey Fischer was fouled, and she proceeded to drain two double bonus free throws to salt the win.

*Here's a video from the second half at Paynesville last Friday:


Don't forget! Tomorrow! The B-B-E high school's Olson Auditorium hosts the Sno-Daze coronation ceremony at 9:30 a.m.

Area girls' basketball scores on February 10:
Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 75, Dawson-Boyd 29
BOLD 65, Benson 34
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 72, Ortonville 10
MACCRAY 72, Lac qui Parle Valley 37
Minneota 59, Renville County West 46
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 54, Yellow Medicine East 42
Montevideo 57, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48
Royalton 57, Osakis 54
Hill City/Northland 67, Ogilvie 64
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 63, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 59
Swanville 58, Mille Lacs 30

Section 5A wrestling seedings

The B-B-E wrestling team earned the No. 5 seed in Section 5A. The Jaguars (7-12 overall) open with a quarterfinal match at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg high school on Thursday this week (February 13) at 7 p.m. They face the No. 4-seeded K-M-S Fighting Saints (11-3) in the playoff opener.

Minneota (21-0) is the top seed. Paynesville Area (12-4) is the No. 2 seed, and Canby (12-8) is the No. 3 seed.

The Section 5A Final Four is this Saturday, February 15 at Paynesville Area high school. The semifinal round matches start at 12:30 p.m.

Tonight!
The school board meets at 7 p.m. at the high school media center in Belgrade, while the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a huge conference game at Kimball Area. The Jaguars are 9-2 (second) in the Central Minnesota Conference, while the Cubs are 7-4 and in fourth place but just a half game out of third behind Holdingford (8-4).

Sunday catch-up day

Today! All day, through around 8:45 p.m...before they close at 9...RJ's Mini Mart of Brooten has a chicken wings special going plus a "BOHO" pizza offer for Super Bowl Sunday. You can buy any pizza and get one of equal or lesser value at half off! This deal also applies to single pizza slices. Also, a half dozen chicken wings are available for just $5.

Extensive Valentine's Day advertising was published in the February 6 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. It will be repeated again this week, and the Padua Pub's Valentine's Day specials will also be featured in the upcoming issue.

In sports news...
It doesn't appear that the Section 5A wrestling seedings have been posted. I am sure of this: Section 5A is completely loaded/stacked to the hilt! In the latest Guillotine state rankings, four teams in Section 5A are in the Top 7! This includes Minneota (No. 4), Canby (No. 5) and Paynesville Area (No. 7). Another is ranked No. 11 (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg). The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is grouped with 8 other teams in the Lean and Mean category.

In a result I did not get in time for the press last week, the regular season finished for the wrestling team at Long Prairie last Tuesday (February 4) with a 37-24 loss to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville.

Border battle series sweep (VIDEO)

This blog post is being updated late on Saturday night after an evening at open gym...it has been a long, long day...non-stop movement for 14 hours straight! No kidding.

For at least three-quarters of the game tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team had their hands full in a border battle at Paynesville Area. After the Jaguars led 21-10 at halftime, the Bulldogs punched right back into the mix across the first 6 minutes of the second half. With 12:32 to go, senior Kylie Pauls went 2-for-2 at the free throw line to force a 25-25 tie.

Final score: B-B-E 53, Paynesville Area 42. It was a solid win in spite of ice cold 27.4 percent field goal shooting. They were solid at the free throw line by making 18 of 24 free throws.

With 9:31 to go in the second half, the Bulldogs led 32-29 on a fastbreak shot. Almost a minute later, Kacey Fischer's two free throws lifted the Jaguars ahead 33-32.

Here's action from the first half of tonight's game:


With 6:28 to go, Teagan Dingmann scored on a rebound shot of her own miss that brought a 37-37 tie. The Bulldogs later tied the game 39-39 with a bucket with 5:35 left. From that point, the Jaguars held the Bulldogs to just 3 more points.

The No. 10-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Jaguars (16-7 overall) have now won four straight games. The Bulldogs fall to 7-15 overall (5-6 CMC).

In the latest QRF state rankings, the Jaguars stand at No. 18 in Class 1A. This puts them at No. 2 in the Sub-Section 5A-East standings behind Braham, who is 16-5 overall and No. 4 in the Class 1A QRF rankings.

COMING on Sunday...wresting playoff notes will be added in a new blog post.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 7:
Royalton 65, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 30
Kimball Area 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 29
Holdingford 57, Maple Lake 47 (played on Thursday, February 6 in Maple Lake)

Area girls' basketball scores on February 7:
Upsala 56, Swanville 51
Melrose Area 49, Holdingford 36
Bertha-Hewitt 59, Battle Lake 48
New London-Spicer 57, Glencoe-Silver Lake 48
BOLD 60, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 42
Ogilvie 68, Barnum 65
West Central Area 74, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 58
Dawson-Boyd 75, Benson 60

Area boys' basketball scores on February 7:
Border West 45, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 44
Benson 86, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 48
Montevideo 66, Sauk Centre 50
Brandon-Evansville 75, Battle Lake 40
Melrose Area 63, BOLD 59
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 70, Minnewaska Area 57
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 58, MACCRAY 55
Hancock 87, Ashby 55
West Central Area 71, Park Christian 64
Underwood 82, Parkers Prairie 51
Osakis 60, Little Falls 46
Kimball Area 49, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 43

Area boys' basketball scores on February 6:
Browerville 64, Border West 62

You gotta see this! Equine competition at Smilin' D Arena (VIDEO)

Click to see what it is all about: https://shorturl.at/wVsr9. Jack Anderson, featured in the video, is a 7th grader at B-B-E middle school.

The official website for Smilin' D Arena is https://smilindarena.com.

Some sports updates...
The Section 2A dance meet will take place tonight instead of tomorrow at New London-Spicer high school. The weather was the driving factor behind the schedule adjustment.

At halftime...the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team holds a 21-10 lead at Paynesville.

Update: with 6:45 left, the Bulldogs are ahead 37-35. More to come in a new blog post.

Jaguars are batting at first-place Holdingford

At halftime in Holdingford tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team trails the Huskers 43-35. The game is being broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood, who streams online at https://www.kmgk1071.com.

Holdingford has 15 straight wins and held an 18-2 overall record coming into the game. They are tied for first place in the Central Minnesota Conference with an 8-1 record along with Kimball Area.

Update: with 10:50 left in the second half, the Huskers hold a 66-46 lead. Later, with 8:18 to go, the Huskers are ahead 75-57.

Final score: Holdingford 98, B-B-E 80. When all was said and done, the Jaguars could not overcome 56 percent field goal shooting by the Huskers.

Luke Illies poured in a career-high 33 points to lead the Jaguars, whose points totaled a season high.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 6:
Paynesville Area 80, Eden Valley-Watkins 70
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 70, Royalton 64
Kimball Area 81, Maple Lake 36

Area boys' basketball scores on February 6:
Brandon-Evansville 80, Underwood 70
Albany 75, Melrose Area 34
Alexandria 96, Willmar 43
Upsala 73, Swanville 71
Rothsay 76, Ortonville 64

Jaguars pick up third straight win, and a Winter Sports Show (VIDEOS)

The game became a barn burner, and they needed some late-game heroics, but the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team prevailed 53-49 tonight for their third win in a row. The Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles gave the Jaguars all they could handle but ultimately lost for the seventh straight time.

After holding a 31-22 halftime lead, the Jaguars had to withstand intense defensive pressure across the second half. Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer put the Jaguars up 34-24 with 17:05 to go, but the Eagles cut the deficit to 36-34 across the next 4 minutes. They pushed the lead from there to 47-36 with 9 minutes to go. For the last 9 minutes of the game, the Jaguars were held for an 8-minute stretch without a field goal. After EV-W tied the game 49-49 with 1:21 to go, Kacey Fischer knocked down a shot in the lane and two free throws to salt away the narrow win.

From the floor, the Jaguars were ice cold with 26 percent shooting on 67 attempts.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Now 15-7 overall, the Jaguars continue Central Minnesota Conference action with a border battle game this Friday in Paynesville. The Bulldogs (6-14, 4-5) played at Kimball Area tonight.

B-B-E's JV team completed the season sweep over EV-W with a 53-47 win tonight. The C-squad fell 25-23 in a defensive battle after trailing 12-3 at halftime.

Here's my 7th winter sports show of the season:


More to come. Video is uploading.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 4:
Royalton 60, Maple Lake 26
Paynesville Area 51, Kimball Area 29 (the Bulldogs led 25-19 at halftime)
Holdingford 48, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 39 (the Falcons led 20-16 at halftime)

Area girls' basketball scores on February 4:
Milaca 67, Braham 44
Ogilvie 59, Hinckley-Finlayson 31
West Central Area 60, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 42
Barnesville 67, Sauk Centre 64
Albany 58, Foley 41
Cromwell-Wright 66, Pine River-Backus 39
Melrose Area 48, Osakis 47
Hancock 73, Parkers Prairie 45
Rothsay 69, Brandon-Evansville 63
BOLD 75, Springfield 39
Underwood 63, Battle Lake 36
Minnewaska Area 71, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 52 (first loss of the season for K-M-S)
Browerville 64, Verndale 45
Willmar 53, Detroit Lakes 44
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 57, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 38
Upsala 78, Pillager 75

GAME NIGHT! In Jaguar Country (RADIO)

It is GAME NIGHT! In Jaguar Country.

Tonight's game between our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team and the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles (3-18, 2-8) will be aired on The Train, 106.5 FM of Norway Lake-Sunburg. I spoke with Bill Dean before the game, and he was excited to report that the JV Jaguars beat the Eagles 53-47!

The Train broadcasts on the radio and also online at https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.

Also, tonight, the B-B-E Class of 2034 third grade girls' basketball team will be playing at halftime. Their entire squad features 11 players.

Here's a video from Saturday's game against Browerville:


Game updates to follow!

Halftime: B-B-E 31, EV-W 22. The Jaguars trailed 4-3 with 15:45 left in the opening half. Three minutes later, the Jaguars held a 15-4 lead after a 10-foot shot by Teagan Dingmann. They briefly had another double-digit lead later with 7:30 to go after Bree Thieschafer drained two free throws for a 23-13 score.

Live music at Smilin' D Arena (VIDEO)

Last Friday night, I enjoyed time out at Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township. The evening featured live music by the Hell Country Truckers band.

Here's a video of part of the concert:


Tonight is home cooking! For our girls' basketball team. More to come.

Also, looking ahead a bit...on Thursday this week, the boys' basketball team travels to Holdingford. That game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

Another 2-0 day for varsity basketball teams (VIDEO)

Two games played out this afternoon at B-B-E high school with vastly different complexions.

In the first varsity game, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team won their second straight contest by defeating Browerville 70-69. The Tigers came into the game as the No. 2-ranked team in Sub-Section 5A-West. In Class 1A by QRF, the Tigers were ranked No. 41.

Next: the Jaguars travel to Holdingford on Thursday, February 6 for the start of a four-game road swing.

In the second varsity game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team made quick work of Browerville, who entered the day with a 3-15 overall record (1-6 Prairie Conference). After building a 35-14 halftime lead, the Jaguars maintained the wide advantage in a 57-30 win.

Here's the starter introductions, tip-off and the opening minutes of the girls' basketball game:


Next: the girls' basketball team hosts Eden Valley-Watkins (3-18, 2-8) next Tuesday, February 4. They hold 14-7 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Central Minnesota Conference.

More to come...Sunday is a crazy busy day with a JO volleyball tournament at the College of Saint Benedict.

Area girls' basketball scores on February 1:
Milaca 86, Ogilvie 47
Hinckley-Finlayson 58, Duluth Denfeld 52
Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 76, Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 69

Hoops for Hope this afternoon at B-B-E high school

This is a busy day in Jaguar Country!

Today's varsity action will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train. They stream online at: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train. The girls' varsity game tipped off at 3:30 p.m.

Earlier this afternoon, in the boys' basketball game, the Jaguars won 70-69 over Browerville. At halftime, they led 37-30. Junior Taylor Pieper's 14 points led the Jaguars, who improved to 5-14 overall. The Tigers are now 8-6 (3-3 Prairie Conference).

At halftime, the girls' basketball team is ahead 35-14.

In youth basketball action today...
BBE's Class of 2032 5th grade girls' basketball team was 2-0 today in Paynesville. With a go-ahead basket by Adi Deters with 30 seconds left, the Jaguars beat ACGC by a 5 to 4 score. They followed that with a 13-2 win against Rocori.