Step I: incredible defensive effort falls short in playoff opener, Winter Sports Show (VIDEOS)

This blog post is being updated and expanded on Friday morning; one update includes adding area scores from Thursday night.

It was an incredible performance to take in at Brandon-Evansville high school's brand new gymnasium. Punch, punch, counterpunch...that is how the game played out from start to finish.

In the Sub-Section 6A-South quarterfinals, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team suffered a 49-43 loss to Brandon-Evansville. In the final scorebox, the Jaguars shot just 22 percent in the second half when they were held to just 22 points. B-B-E shot 5-for-31 on three-pointers for the game compared to 4-for-13 by the Chargers. Ultimately, a big difference in the game was Brandon-Evansville shooting 1-for-8 on threes in the first half and then 3-for-5 on threes on the second half.

Here's a short video clip from the final minute of the game:


In his final high school basketball game, Luke Illies poured in 22 points on 41 percent field goal shooting (9-of-22) while hauling in a whopping 16 rebounds. Fellow senior Josh Walstrom also had a fine game with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Chargers, who were bounced from the playoffs last year by the Jaguars, trailed 21-15 at halftime. They advance to the semifinal round, which will be this Saturday afternoon at Minnewaska Area high school. Brandon-Evansville is 14-13 overall, and they will face top-seeded West Central Area (19-8), who knocked Parkers Prairie out of the playoffs with a 77-33 quarterfinal win.

In an NBA-style game played in Hancock tonight, the No. 6-seeded Benson Braves won 93-84. Crazy. The Braves are 17-10 overall heading into Saturday's semifinals.

How the first half played out in Brandon...
The Jaguars played an outstanding first half and found their footing quickly after they trailed 4-0 to open the game. With a little over 8 minutes to go, the Jaguars carved out a 12-4 lead. At that point, they had held the 2023-2024 Little Eight Conference Player of the Year, Micah Fuller, to no points. Right at the 8-minute mark, Brandon-Evansville's second-best player, senior Tanner Riedel, scored his first bucket of the night. This broke what was a 12-0 run by the Jaguars, and the lead for the visitors was cut to 12-6.

The 12-0 scoring surge by B-B-E began with a midrange pullup shot by Luke Illies, which was the team's first field goal. The senior forward knocked this shot down with 12:03 on the clock, and the Jaguars trailed 4-3. Less than 20 seconds later, Illies stole the ball and drove it in for a two-handed slam dunk for a go-ahead basket. Dominic Ramos scored on the baseline, and Josh Walstrom hit a three-pointer at the top of the key with 9:20 left. Illies then hit a 10-footer with 8:30 to go for the 12-4 lead.

Illies hit a three-pointer with a little over 3 minutes to go for a 15-6 lead. Brandon-Evansville played over 15 minutes of the contest and had just 6 points on the scoreboard. For B-B-E, this was an incredible achievement defensively against a team that entered the contest averaging over 62 points per game. Riedel then scored on a layup with 2:48 left to cut it to 15-8.

After B-E cut it to a 15-12 score, Aiden Radermacher sank 2 free throws with 55 seconds left for a 19-12 lead. After B-E had an empty trip down court, Walstrom scored on the right block with 10 seconds to go. The 21-12 lead almost survived to the buzzer, but B-E's Riedel canned an off-balance three-pointer deep in the right corner to make it 21-15 at the break.

Here's a video featuring action in the final minute before halftime:


What can anyone say about that buzzer-beating three-pointer? It was an incredible shot. You could watch basketball for 10 years and not see something like that from beyond the arc.

Here's my latest sports show recording...it has been one month since I last recorded:


More to come after I review more game notes from Brandon...on Friday morning.

In the second half...the Chargers regained the lead on Tanner Riedel's pullup 12-footer with 13:47 left in the game. This put the home team in front 26-25. A little over 2 minutes later, a three-ball by Fuller extended B-E's rally to a game-changing 17-4 run. At this point, the clock read 11:26, and the Jaguars had an uphill battle on their hands. With 7:50 left, Illies drained a three-pointer in double coverage. With 6:18 left, Pieper scored on the arc to cap what was a 9-2 scoring run that lifted the Jaguars in front 36-35.

Josh Walstrom was fouled on a three-pointer and made 2 of 3 charity shots. The Chargers responded on the next possession with Fuller scoring in the paint and converting a three-point play. With 9:46 left, Riedel made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Chargers led 33-27. At that point, Brandon-Evansville had outscored the Jaguars by a 21-6 margin in a span of a little over 8 minutes of game time.

With 9:05 left, Illies scored on an underhanded layup and converted a free throw. Riedel scored on a fadeaway shot, and the Jaguars got back-to-back three-pointers with 7:50 left by Illies (in double coverage) and with 6:18 left by Pieper (with the ball dancing around the rim before dropping in). The three by Pieper capped a 9-2 run that lifted the Jaguars on top 36-35.

In a span of just over 2 minutes of game time, the Chargers scored 9 unanswered points starting with Fuller's three-point play with 5:54 left. B-B-E responded on the next possession with Walstrom hitting a three on the left wing. With 2:50 left, Illies stole the ball and drove in a layup on the right side to make it a one-possession game. With 2:09 left, Fuller knocked down what was a pivotal wide-open three-pointer on the right wing. The Chargers had three opportunities to widen the gap, but they missed the front end of bonus free throws twice heading into the final minute and a third time with 34 seconds to go.

With 23 seconds to go, Illies scored in the paint to make it 47-43. The Chargers held on for the win with Riedel sinking two free throws with 10 seconds to go.

In other news...
A web article has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website featuring the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team: https://shorturl.at/IwsmR. They are gearing up for two region competitions, the first coming next week in Grand Forks, and the other in the first week of April in St. Cloud.

To see some Smilin' D Arena coverage out of Colfax Township, click here: https://rb.gy/jf7vlz. They have a draft horse competition coming on Saturday night.

Section 6A boys' basketball (sub-section quarterfinal) playoff scores on March 6:
West Central Area 77, Parkers Prairie 73 Benson 93, Hancock 84
Border West 63, Breckenridge 62 (the No. 7-seeded Cowboys nearly knock out the No. 2 seeded Buccaneers in Wheaton)
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 67, Frazee 52
Ada-Borup-West 85, Rothsay 49
Henning 67, Underwood 29
Park Christian 75, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 49

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 6:
Central MN Christian Prinsburg 76, Renville County West 37
Swanville 64, PACT Charter 58
Albany 102, Rush City 38
Melrose Area 66, Annandale 59 (in Annandale, a big upset win by Coach Duscha's Dutchmen, who are 8-19 overall)
Sauk Centre 67, Pine City 40
Osakis 69, Legacy Christian 59
Upsala 88, Maple Lake 36
Holdingford 76, Milaca 52
Mora 74, Royalton 64
Spectrum 70, Kimball Area 62
BOLD 79, Sleepy Eye 51
Springfield 74, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53
Browerville 76, Sebeka 56

Irrigation Clinic...and the playoff opener! (RADIO, UPDATES, VIDEO!)

First, here's a link to the Bonanza Valley Voice website for any farmer interested in attending an upcoming irrigators clinic in Spicer: https://shorturl.at/WzdmY.

In girls' basketball action tonight in Marshall...
Late in the first half of the Section 3AA girls' basketball championship, Minnewaska Area has pulled in front 23-22 against Fairmont. This represents the first lead of the game for the Lakers.

Incredible: Minnewaska Area fell behind by as many as 12 points at two different times in the first half. At halftime: Minnewaska Area 23, Fairmont 22.

Update: from about the 10 minute mark to the 5-minute mark, the score in Marshall was Minnewaska 37, Fairmont 34...but the Lakers punched Fairmont right in the gut with a rapid-quick 11-0 run that blew the game open. The Lakers won 51-36 (I think?) to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1999. Good for them! Bravo!

More to come...and in boys' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team tips off at 7 p.m. tonight in Brandon. We have radio coverage! Tonight's game will be aired on 106.5 FM The Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg. Bill Dean, Belgrade High School Class of 1972, has his broadcast streamed online: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.

In the opening half...the Chargers took a 4-0 lead with 13:40 left on a paint shot. Both teams struggled mightily offensively across the first 6 minutes. With 11:43 to go, Luke Illies stole the ball and drove it in for a slam dunk, which gave the Jaguars a 5-4 lead.

Here's a video from the first half tonight...starting with just over 8 minutes to go:


Halftime: B-B-E 21, Brandon-Evansville 15. The Chargers got a wild three-point shot to go down right at the buzzer from the deep right corner.

To see the final score, reload the blog to view the new blog post.

Ash Wednesday Mass...and more college news (VIDEO)

The Christian season of Lent is underway, and multiple churches across the Bonanza Valley area kicked it off with Ash Wednesday worship services tonight.

Here's a short video clip from St. Donatus Catholic Church in Brooten tonight:


The video was recorded during Communion, which was near the end of worship at St. Donatus. Ash Wednesday worship services were also held at Grace Lutheran Church in Belgrade and at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten.

In college basketball news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament that begins on March 12 in Rochester, MN. The Pioneers (21-5) were given an At-Large bid to nationals after finishing as runners-up in the North Plains B District Tournament held this past weekend in Thief River Falls. Tiyana Schwinghammer, a B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate, is a sophomore on the Northland team. In the national tournament opener, Northland is paired up with the No. 12-seeded Montgomery County Mustangs, who are 25-2 overall. Their junior college is located in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Tip-off for the national tournament opener is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at the Rochester Regional Sports Center. From Jaguar Country, that's roughly a 200-mile trek. Yikes!

Bombers claim subsection title

The Braham Bombers girls' basketball team has repeated as Sub-Section 5A-East champions. They defeated Upsala 65-53 at Foley high school to improve to 22-5 overall. They now face Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in a repeat of last year's Section 5A championship. The Wolves and Bombers square off this Friday at 7:45 p.m. at St. Cloud State University's Halenbeck Hall, and the winner advances to state. W-H-A won the section title last year for the school's first-ever trip to the girls' basketball state tournament.

In tonight's game, the No. 3-seeded Cardinals led 6-0 and 11-4 early, but the Bombers stormed back with a 14-0 run to lead 18-11. Upsala came back to lead 24-23, but Braham went into halftime ahead 31-27.

Wednesday afternoon update...in college news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team is heading to the national tournament! This afternoon, they received news that they earned an At-Large bid to the NJCAA Division III tournament that begins on March 12 in Rochester, Minnesota. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer is one of their leading scorers in her second year on the team. The Pioneers are 21-5 overall and were ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA polls. More to follow as I learn it...

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 4:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 89, Paynesville Area 54
Montevideo 87, Minnewaska Area 56
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 66, New Ulm Cathedral 47

Playoff seeding and Parents and Seniors Night (VIDEOS*)

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has been seeded for the playoffs. They will get a rematch with Brandon-Evansville on the road with the Sub-Section 6A-South playoff opener coming on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at B-E high school in Brandon. In the subsection seedings released on Saturday, the Jaguars earned the No. 5 seed with a 10-16 overall record. They are far and away playing their best basketball of the season with a 7-2 record since January 30.

The Jaguars look to avenge a 68-51 loss in Douglas County to Brandon-Evansville in the third game of the season (December 7). The B-E Chargers have a 13-13 overall record, and they went 8-8 in the Little Eight Conference.

It appeared that Hancock was destined to earn the No. 4 seed, but their late-season 78-69 overtime win against Border West helped lift them to the No. 3 seed in the subsection. The Owls (14-12) have a four-game winning streak going into their playoff opener with No. 6-seeded Benson. The full 1 to 10 seeding list is posted below the video.

Here's a video from Parents and Seniors Night last Tuesday:


Sub-Section 6A-South boys' basketball seedings:
1. West Central Area
2. Border West
3. Hancock
4. Brandon-Evansville
5. B-B-E
6. Benson
7. Breckenridge
8. Parkers Prairie
The 9. Ashby
10. Ortonville

More to come after lunch!

Here's another video from the Paynesville game...


In this last video, the clip begins with the score tied 26-26 and 7:37 remaining in the opening half. The Jaguars ultimately defeated the Bulldogs in a shootout by an 86-78 score. This achieved a fourth-place finish in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 7-7 record.

In college basketball news...
The No. 3-ranked Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team took it on the chin today against Rochester Community and Technical College in the Region 13B national-qualifying championship game. The Pioneers, hosting the Region 13 tournament in Thief River Falls, lost 78-65. They are not necessarily out of the running for the NJCAA D-III national tournament, but they will have to wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to see their season continue. Their record with today's loss is 21-5. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer, a Northland sophomore, had one of the better games of her college career with a 26-point effort against the No. 1-ranked Yellowjackets. She played 37 minutes and shot 9-for-13 on field goals, 5-of-7 at the line while earning 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots and 1 steal.

RCTC's women's basketball team improves to 21-4 overall with their 8th straight win.

In other news...
A few folders have been added to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug online gallery. You can find that here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/2025-B-B-EBonanza-Valley-area-events.

Step II: semifinals is a bust, Jaguars suffer brutal loss; more state wresting success (VIDEO)

Note: video was added late Saturday night to this blog post...

First, I'll start off with the great news.

At the state wrestling tournament: Noah Jensen finished one of the most spectacular 8th grade wrestling seasons at B-B-E by winning a 17-0 tech fall (4:41) in the 107-pound third-place match. With that, he gains a small level of "bragging rights" against his big brother, Tyler, who also had a wonderful 8th grade wrestling season before finishing in 6th place at the state tournament. Tyler Jensen was a 2022 B-B-E graduate.

At 160, Brett DeRoo won an 11-5 decision in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match. DeRoo (41-3) faces Holdingford junior Simon Boeckman (44-8) in the third-place match.

More good news: Olive Olson earned a berth in the finals round in Humorous at the Chatfield speech invitational today. Olson ultimately placed 6th overall. In Great Speeches, Tia Nelson took second place with another berth in the finals. The B-B-E speech team left Chatfield at about 5:00 p.m. to head back to Jaguar Country.

Back to state wrestling news: Brett DeRoo finished a spectacular season as a Jaguar wrestler with a fourth-placee finish at 160 pounds at the state tournament. He lost by a 2-0 decision in the third-place match tonight with a final season record of 41-4.

At 215 pounds, Carson Gilbert meets United North Central sophomore Eli Roiko (35-4) in the championship match that comes later tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

In girls' basketball playoff news...heartbreak in Hinckley
In my humble opinion, the game was lost in the first 6 minutes of the opening half. It was tough to watch, as Upsala attacked the rim with a high level of intensity on offense while using their defense to push the tempo. Facing the No. 3-seeded Cardinals for the second time this season, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled nearly the entire game and came up short in a devastating 54-51 loss in the Sub-Section 5A-East semifinals.

Upsala's fast start helped them build early leads of 12-4 (with just over 6 minutes played) and later 17-10 (with 9:39 left).

Before the game, news had just been released that Region 5A officials moved the site for the upcoming subsection championship game from Hinckley to Foley high school. It was a terrific prize for either Upsala or B-B-E, but it required winning today's game to get that prize.

Here's a video from the first half today in Hinckley:


In that video, the clip begins right after Upsala scored in the paint with 5:15 left. This gave the Cardinals a 20-17 lead. Across the first 6 minutes, Upsala built a 12-4 lead, but the Jaguars clawed their way back to trail 18-17 when Macey Roering went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 5:33 to go.

It was not meant to be for the Jaguars, who had an outstanding season from the outer view with a 19-9 final season record, a runner-up finish in the Central Minnesota Conference and a 2-0 record at the Granite City Classic over Christmas. This was all achieved with just 3 seniors on the roster and just 2 senior starters. However, earning playoff hardware was not in the cards. Upsala played a terrific game from start to finish and withstood an incredible second-half comeback by the Jaguars.

With 11:45 left, Upsala led 41-27 and appeared firmly in the driver's seat. The Jaguars slowly chipped away, and they tied it at 48-48 on two free throws by Kacey Fischer with 1:43 left. With under 1 minute to go, Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer forced a 51-51 tie, but the Cardinals won the game on a banked three-pointer by senior guard Isabel Ripplinger on the left wing with 23 seconds to go.

Upsala (19-9) advances to the subsection finals to face top-seeded Braham (22-6) next Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Foley high school. Upsala has 6 seniors on the roster, and they earned a huge feat by getting Upsala into a playoff championship game for the first time in many years. (I'll look that up later.) This is all I have for now, as my laptop battery is nearing the end of its charge. This blog post will be updated again at about 7 p.m.

In Class 1A state wrestling news...the Jaguars have another state champion in the program. Carson Gilbert won by a 6-5 decision in the 215-pound state championship tonight to finish a perfect 42-0 overall. He's the third B-B-E wrestler to have an undefeated season, joining Adam Jaeger (2018) and Maximus Hanson (2024). 

Gilbert trailed 4-2 after the first period but took the lead with a takedown with just 20 seconds remaining in the third period. The 3 points awarded at that point gave him a 6-5 lead.

In college basketball news...
Earlier today in the NJCAA Division III Region 13B tournament, Northland Technical and Community College (21-4) defeated St. Cloud Technical and Community College 70-49 to advance to tomorrow's national-qualifying championship game. The Pioneers, who include B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer, face Rochester Community and Technical College (20-4) tomorrow on back Northland's home court at noon in Thief River Falls. The winner gets an automatic berth in the NJCAA DIII national tournament.

The STCC Cyclones finish 11-13 overall after earning a region playoff berth for the first time since 2020 and just the third time in program history. They were led this season by B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Brooklyn Fischer.

Schwinghammer and fellow sophomore Josie Iverson each scored 16 points to lead the No. 3-ranked Pioneers, who are the top seed in Region 13A. Also in the scorebox for Schwinghammer: 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.

In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate College conference tournament quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons women's basketball team lot 87-79 to top-seeded Southwest Minnesota State University. MSU-Moorhead finishes 14-16 overall after they went 11-11 in the NSIC regular season. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Abby Berge scored 13 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons.

Ridgewater College lost 74-53 to Minnesota West Community College in the Region 13A semifinals today in Thief River Falls. The Warriors, whose roster includes B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Grace Jackson, went 4-20 overall this season.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 1:
Sauk Centre 68, Foley 48
Breckenridge 66, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 49
Annandale 58, Osakis 57
West Central Area 62, Hancock 57
Underwood 60, New York Mills 53
Royalton 49, Albany 43
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 69, Sebeka 30
Bertha-Hewitt 61, Pine River-Backus 46
Fergus Falls 59, Willmar 47

GAME DAY and more (UPDATES, RADIO coverage)

A big day lies ahead with postseason action taking place in Hinckley and St. Paul.

MAJOR afternoon update...Region 5A officials have already changed the venue (site) for Tuesday's subsection championship game to Foley high school. This is wonderful!!!! Now we have to get there!

At Xcel Energy Center, three members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team compete for hardware at the Class 1A individual state wrestling tournament. Noah Jensen at 107 pounds can battle back for as high as third place, while Brett DeRoo (160) and Carson Gilbert (215) are both in contention for state titles.

And shifting gears to basketball...
Coach Austin Rambow reported that the seeding for Section 6A has to be completed by 10 a.m. today. Shortly after 10 a.m., we should know the final seedings and the schedule for next week's boys' basketball playoffs.

UPDATE in the afternoon: please spread the word! Both local radio stations will carry today's playoff game in Hinckley. Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (107.1 FM) also streams online with Brady Erdmann's coverage: https://www.kmgk1071.com. Also! Out of Norway Lake-Sunburg, 106.5 FM The Train will carry the game. Bill Dean's radio coverage can be heard online at: https://www.willmarradio.com/the_train.

Here's a video from Royalton on February 18:


The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team faces Upsala in the sub-section semifinals today after an obnoxious, ridiculous 2 1/2-hour drive to face Upsala at Hinckley-Finlayson high school. For what it's worth, Upsala also has an extensive drive, but they have the "luxury" of not being forced to drive through the 83 stoplights of the St. Cloud Metropolitan area. The Upsala team and fans have about a 100-minute-long drive to go 89 miles. The drive for us is 120 miles and at least 150 minutes of driving.

MEANWHILE...Braham, the top seed with a 21-5 overall record, has just 26 miles to drive to play today's game. Braham faces No. 5-seeded Swanville (13-12) at 12 p.m. in Hinckley. Swanville has to travel 99 miles with what is about a 2-hour long drive that includes traveling through Little Falls. That would be a challening drive to complete in under 120 minutes. THINK about it: Braham has a 30-minute drive time today, while Swanville has a 120-minute drive. The playoff site of Hinckley-Finlayson high school creates one of the most over-the-top terrible decisions I've seen in over 20 years of sports reporting by the powers-that-be who create the playoff brackets. This is far and away a "Top 5" bad decision in anything I've seen. It's absolutely wild that officials did not seek out a site that's at a minimum closer to St. Cloud. There's "fair" and there's "wrong" and this is wrong!

Upsala has a roster that includes "lights out" good players such as Dakota Soltis, who can go off for 20+ points if she gets on a tear. The Cardinals are 18-9 overall while having one of their better girls' basketball seasons in school history. They have earned great success in fastpitch softball in the past 3 years, and this year's girls' basketball team includes players with extensive state fastpitch tournament experience (2022 state appearance and then 4th at state in 2023). Last spring, Upsala went 17-7 overall and finished third in Section 6A after going 6 games deep in the postseason. In fastpitch softball, Upsala's team has played in 21 postseason games in the last 3 years. In the Prairie Conference, Upsala's fastpitch team tied with Swanville for the title last spring, and the Cardinals earned solo Prairie titles in their state tournament seasons of 2022 and 2023.

UPDATE: you can listen to the Braham vs. Swanville girls' basketball playoff game (noon tip-off) by clicking here to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_X5SIFp43A. After Swanville took a 2-0 lead, they committed three straight turnovers while facing Braham's fullcourt press. The Bombers then racked up 5 team fouls in the game's first 3 minutes, but they have a 5-4 lead.

With 14 minutes to go in the first half, the Bombers had 5 team fouls, and Swanville was tagged with their first team foul. Braham led 7-6 at that point. The underdog Bulldogs clearly came to play! It will be interesting to see how they fare against Braham's fullcourt pressure.

UPDATE at state wrestling! Noah Jensen (37-8) won a 20-8 major decision this morning against Pipestone Area freshman Lane Fruechte (34-7) to advance to the consolation bracket semifinals. Additional updates to follow here after 11 a.m. Update: Noah's next opponent will be Chatfield freshman Jameson Priebe, the bracket's No. 2 seed. Priebe is 40-3 going into this match.

Brett DeRoo's semifinal match should start sometime after 12 p.m.

Afternoon update: Brett DeRoo lost a tough one in his state semifinal match by a 7-1 decision to the bracket's No. 2 seed. He will battle in the consolation bracket and try to fight back to take third place at 160. DeRoo faces Canby senior Blake Giese in his consolation semifinal match.

In his 215-pound semifinal, Carson Gilbert won a 7-2 decision to advance to the state finals.

At 107, Noah Jensen won a 14-7 decision to advance to the third-place match at state. It's a grand achievement for the 8th grader in his first appearance at the individual state tournament!

BASKETBALL UPDATE: Braham defeated Swanville 67-58 in overtime to advance to the subsection finals. At the end of regulation, the score was tied 53-53. I've got extensive game notes to post tonight from that game. The B-B-E vs. Upsala game should get started at about 2:10 p.m. in Hinckley. Updates to follow!

In the first half, the Cardinals have jumped out to an early 12-4 lead. With 11 minutes to go, the Jaguars trail 12-6.

Halftime: Upsala 23, B-B-E 19. It as been a mighty struggle.

In the 2nd half, with 12:40 to go, the Cardinals have a 39 to 27 lead. This blog post is a wrap as of 4 p.m. A new blog post is coming later this afternoon with the girls' basketball final score.