Girls' basketball sweeps EV-W, Pirouettes dance team sweeps at home invitational (VIDEOS)

In their best night of the season so far, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team earned a clean sweep in 3 categories tonight in their home invitational. The Pirouettes took first place in JV jazz, varsity jazz and varsity kick. This gives them tremendous momentum heading into the Camden Conference championships, which is this Friday at Yellow Medicine East high school in Granite Falls.

Here's a video featuring the awards ceremony from tonight:


The Section 2A dance meet is at New London-Spicer on Saturday, February 7.

Additional dance team coverage is in the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, which goes to press before sunrise tomorrow!

In basketball news...
Also in home action tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team completed a season sweep over Central Minnesota Conference rival Eden Valley-Watkins with a 69-51 win.

The Jaguars (12-4) had balanced scoring and were led by Tiffany Dingmann's 15 points, all on 5 made three-point shots. Also in double figures were Macey Roering (12), Teagan Dingmann (10), Kacey Fischer (14) and Mya Worms (10). In the CMC, the Jaguars improve to 7-0 and continue their hold on first place alone.

Here's a video featuring the final seconds of the game:


At Kimball tonight, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City's girls' basketball team lost 61-47 to fall to 2-5 in the CMC. The Cubs improve to 6-1 and remain just one game out of first place.

In their CMC game tonight, I heard the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The final score was 85-65. That's all I've got for this blog post, as it's time to get the newspaper ready for press. The blog post will be vastly revamped tomomorrow. Good night.

Home dance competition is tonight

The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team will host their home invitational tonight, Tuesday, January 20 at the elementary school in Brooten. Doors open at 4 p.m. for tickets, and gymnasium doors open at 5:30 for spectators. The National Anthem will be played at 5:55 p.m. with the invitational performances to follow. Teams invited include Sauk Centre, Litchfield, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg and Canby/Minneota.

Also tonight...and unfortunately, I'll have to miss it...the Belgrade city council meets at 6 p.m. in a regular meeting. A summary of the meeting agenda has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: BelgradeCityCouncilagenda.

HALFTIME in Belgrade: the girls' basketball team has a 32-27 lead over EV-W. The five B-B-E starters all have between 5 and 8 points at the break. More to come later tonight in a new blog post.

More from Youth Basketball Saturday

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball 4th graders defeated Sauk Centre 25-22 in a thriller during the championship game of their home invitational. They held a 12-10 lead after both teams scored in the final 25 seconds of the half.

Here's a video featuring the final seconds of the first half:


The past 24 hours or so have included incredibly dangerous, difficult outdoor conditions. As of 10 a.m. today, the temperature in Brooten is minus 5 degrees.

In other news...
Last Friday at the New London-Spicer Invitational, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team finished 6th out of 9 teams with 66.5 points. They competed with just 5 varsity wrestlers. Noah Jensen finished second at 114 pounds as the top place winner for the Jaguars.

The B-B-E speech team kicks off their 2026 season at the Fergus Falls Invitational this Saturday. Additional coverage for their team is coming in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 20: the dance team hosts their home competition at 6 p.m. at the elementary school; the boys' basketball team is at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City; the girls' basketball team hosts Eden Valley-Watkins; and the girls' hockey team hosts the Northern Lakes Lightning (8-9-2) at the Richmond Arena.

Looking ahead: the boys' basketball team's varsity game at Paynesville Area this Friday will start at 5:30 p.m. Paynesville Area is hosting a boys/girls doubleheader that includes Royalton's girls' basketball team.

Youth Basketball Saturday (VIDEOS)

Led by 4th grade head coach Jason Langer and assistant coach Kevin Gruber, the B-B-E Jaguars Class of 2034 boys' basketball team went 3-0 at their home tournament on Saturday in Brooten. They soundly defeated Kimball Area 28-12 and Benson 36-18 to pave their way to the championship game. In the finals, they faced a fast, disciplined Sauk Centre Mainstreeters team. In a back-and-forth affair with numerous ties and lead changes, the Jaguars won 25-22 for first place.

Sauk Centre struck first with a steal and layup just a minute into the action. About a minute later, Brecken Dingmann scored in the paint for a tie game. With 13:30 left, Dingmann earned an assist when he passed downcourt to a speedy Cameron Gruber, whose fastbreak layup gave B-B-E their first lead of the game.

After the Mainstreeters tied it at 4-4, Tyson Tensen scored on a fastbreak shot with 10:05 left.

Here's a video featuring that Tensen fastbreak shot:


A minute later, the game had its third tie with a 6-6 score. With 8:06 left, Dingmann's paint shot put the Jaguars in front 8-6. Almost 3 1/2 minutes passed before the next bucket was scored, and the Jaguars had a 10-6 lead after Asher Anderson scored on a rebound shot just inside the left block. Sauk Centre answered right away with a clean 12-footer.

Over 3 minutes passed in the game before the next bucket. With 22 seconds left, Tensen scored on the right block with a Gruber assist for a 12-8 lead. With 10 seconds left, Sauk Centre's paint shot made it a 12-10 halftime score.

The Mainstreeters tied it with an outside shot in the opening minute of the second half. With 13:42 left, Maddux Rooney's baseline shot broke the tie score. On their next possession, Sauk Centre exposed B-B-E's interior defense with an easy shot for the game's fifth tie. With 11:50 left, a fastbreak layup gave Sauk Centre a 16-14 lead. B-B-E answered right away on Gruber's 12-footer for a 16-16 tie.

Tensen's rebound shot gave B-B-E an 18-16 lead, but the Jaguars were outscored 4-0 across the next 3 minutes of the game. With 6:50 left, Dingmann's shot off the glass tied it at 20-20. Caleb Hernandez-Valdiviezo snared a huge offensive rebound and sank it with 5:50 left to give the Jaguars a 22-20 lead. Nearly 3 minutes later, Sauk Centre got 3 straight offensive rebounds and converted the last for a tie game at 22-22.

Dingmann converted his offensive rebound into a putback for a 24-22 lead with 2:20 left. With 1 minute to go, Gruber converted one of two free throws for a three-point lead. The Jaguars played outstanding defense in the last 60 seconds to come out on top by the 25-22 final score.

Here's a video featuring the last 6 seconds of the game and the post-game celebration:


B-B-E's 4th grade team includes 9 fourth graders and one third grader. Video from the championship game is being processed; it will be posted here at approximately 5 p.m.

Coach Gruber is a B-B-E Class of 2004 graduate who played for Hall of Fame Coach Dave Montbriand. In his senior year, the team overcame heavy graduation losses from the Class of 2003 plus an 0-5 start in December to land a spot in the Sub-Section 5A-South championship in March. With one of the program's best-ever section playoff performances, the Jaguars soundly defeated the Prairie Conference champion Osakis Silverstreaks 86-69 to earn B-B-E's third boys' basketball section finals appearance. In the Section 5A championship, the Jaguars played valiantly in a 62-54 loss to Bertha-Hewitt. Their final season record was 16-13.

Cameron Gruber's father is Coach Kevin Gruber, and Brecken Dingmann's father is Adam Dingmann, who graduated in 2000 and also played for Coach Montbriand.

Mainstreeters sweep hoops doubleheader (VIDEOS)

Two varsity games played out in remarkably different fashion tonight but had the same outcome at Sauk Centre high school tonight.

In the first varsity game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team fought with all they had to overcome a double-digit deficit. Late attempts at the comeback fell three points short in a 54-50 loss.

Here's a video from early in the 1st half in the girls' basketball game:


Sauk Centre (10-4) entered the game as the No. 3-ranked team in Section 6AA, and they're now on a 4-game winning streak.

The Jaguars shot just 28 percent from the floor; they were 9-of-19 at the free throw line, which ultimately cost them the game. Kacey Fischer (19 points) and Teagan Dingmann (17 points) were the two Jaguars in double figures.

And here's video from the 2nd half tonight in the varsity girls game:


The Royalton Royals girls' basketball team picked up a huge Section 6AA win by defeating Foley 74-63 in Foley tonight. The Falcons were 11-1 coming into the game with an 11-game winning streak. Both are contenders in Section 6AA this season.

More to come.

In girls' hockey news...
Last night in Richmond, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team defeated Sartell-St. Stephen/Sauk Rapids-Rice 3-2 in a Central Lakes Conference game. They're now 10-8 overall and 5-4 in the CLC.

In the boys' basketball game tonight:
The Kevin Kuefler-coached Sauk Centre Mainstreeters defeated the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team 61-37. This squares their record at 6-6 overall, while the Jaguars fall to 5-7.

Across the game's first 9 minutes, the Mainstreeters made 6 three-point shots while building a 25-3 lead.

Area girls' basketball scores on January 16:
New York Mills 70, Verndale 48
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 57, Browerville 37
Minnewaska Area 60, Albany 44
Melrose Area 63, Holdingford 26
Royalton 74, Foley 63
Pine River-Backus 82, Cass Lake-Bena 41
Swanville 69, Upsala 41

Area boys' basketball scores on January 16:
Melrose Area 75, Brandon-Evansville 61
Maple Lake 77, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 63 (Central MN Conference game)
Paynesville Area 93, Kimball Area 65 (Central MN Conference game)
Holdingford 70, Eden Valley-Watkins 49 (Central MN Conference game)

Halftime at Sauk Centre (VIDEOS*)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled across the last 9 minutes of the first half at Sauk Centre tonight. After Kacey Fischer scored with 9:20 left to give the Jaguars a 13-11 lead, the Mainstreeters went on a tear. With 2:08 left, a three-pointer gave Sauk Centre a 26-14 lead.

Halftime: Sauk Centre 26, B-B-E 19.
A buzzer-beating shot from the right baseline by Kamie Fischer closed out the first half with a 5-0 run by B-B-E.

The game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They broadcast online: https://www.kmgk1071.com. The varsity boys' basketball game will begin after this game concludes. It will likely be around an 8 p.m. tip-off.

Here's a video recorded early in the first half last night against Royalton:


Road conditions are terrible. Be smart about your travels if you are out and about tonight! Game updates will be posted here after the conclusion of the girls' varsity game.

*In the second half, with five minutes to go, the Mainstreeters are ahead 45-39.

Final girls' basketball score: Sauk Centre 54, B-B-E 50. The Jaguars fall to 11-4 overall with the loss.

The boys' varsity game will start at about 7:55 p.m.

UPDATE: after spotting the Mainstreeters 15 points to start the game, the Jaguars trail 35-18 at halftime. Sauk Centre shot the lights out from beyond the arc. With 13:40 left, Jacob Drevlow made his team's third three-pointer, and the score was 15-0.

By the 9-minute mark, Sauk Centre connected on their sixth three-pointer, and their lead was 25-3.

Here's a video featuring action in the final minute of the 1st half:


The second half should begin at about 8:35 p.m.

Two Central Minnesota Conference wins, Girls' Basketball takes sole grab on 1st place (VIDEOS)

It's not how you start...it is how you finish!

Of course, strong starts to games are always helpful...with that said, tonight was a great night for our basketball teams.

At Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team was powered by a career-high 28 points from junior Teagan Dingmann in a 70-56 win. Consistency was the key, with the Jaguars shooting 38 percent from the floor in the first half and 42 percent in the second. They cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half after holding a 33-31 halftime lead.

Teagan Dingmann made 4 three-pointers while also grabbing 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Macey Roering scored 15 points, and Mya Worms had 14 to round out the players who were in double figures.

The girls' basketball team improves to 11-3 overall with the win and 6-0 in the CMC. Coming into tonight, Kimball Area was 5-0 in the CMC; they played at Royalton.

FRIDAY update: the Royalton Royals sent a message in the CMC, as they pounded on Kimball Area Thursday night by a 74-37 score to knock the Cubs into second place. The Cubs fall to 5-1 in the CMC, while the Royals improve to 5-1. Kimball Area was on an eight-game winning streak.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 15:
Eden Valley-Watkins 57, Paynesville Area 42

In boys' basketball action...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a strong rivalry going with Royalton, and their games generally are close, hard-fought battles regardless of which court they play on. Tonight's game was no different, as the Jaguars fought their way to a 24-23 halftime lead.

Powered by outstanding three-point shooting in the second half, the Jaguars defeated the Royals 59-46 for their second win in 3 nights. Their defense was terrific, as they held the Royals 16 points below their scoring average.

Here's a video featuring the starter introductions and more against Royalton:


This evens their CMC record at 2-2, and they are 5-6 overall going into tomorrow night's girls/boys doubleheader at Sauk Centre. Royalton falls to 2-3 in the CMC and 5-7 overall with their fourth straight loss. This was an impressive win. Earlier in the season, the Royals defeated Eden Valley-Watkins 68-44. Three nights before that, Royalton won 58-56 at Kimball Area.

In the CMC, the boys' basketball team has pulled into a tie for fourth place with Kimball Area.

Here's video from later in the second half:


Tomorrow night at Sauk Centre: preliminary games start at 4:30 p.m. in various gyms at Sauk Centre high school; the girls' varsity game starts at 6 p.m., and the boys' varsity game is set to follow starting at about 7:30 p.m. Also tomorrow night: the wrestling team travels to New London-Spicer for an invitational that starts at 3:30 p.m.

More to come. Video is uploading. I'm also getting a little side-tracked. Lately, I've gotten into the habit of watching Leave it to Beaver on our Roku TV channel. They are really, really terrific shows! Wholesome and good, which is what the world needs more of today.

Area girls' basketball scores on January 15:
West Central Area 69, Montevideo 37
Minnewaska Area 56, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46
Lakeview 60, MACCRAY 52
Central MN Christian 79, Yellow Medicine East 41
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 80, Renville County West 42
#3 New London-Spicer 65, Dassel-Cokato 41

Halftime vs. Royals

At halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a slim 24-23 lead against Royalton in Brooten. With 13:12 left, Hudson Reed made a corner three-pointer that gave the Jaguars a 10-6 lead. The last 13 minutes of the first half were a defensive battle.

Update: just 90 seconds into the second half, the Royals took a 26-24 lead.

For the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, they had a 23-22 lead with 5:11 left in the first half at Holdingford. Update: the girls' basketball team has a 33-31 halftime lead.

More to come in a new blog post, including final scores and game video from Brooten.

A win and a loss on the hardwood (VIDEOS)

I haven't caught up with wrestling scores from tonight's quadrangular at Osakis.

In a Central Lakes Conference game tonight, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team defeated the Willmar Cardinals in a 3-0 shutout at the Willmar Civic Center.

In basketball action tonight:
In a Central Minnesota Conference game, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team turned in a marvelous performance in a 77-58 win over Kimball Area in Brooten. The Jaguars led 43-21 at halftime. In the first half, the Jaguars made a few key outside shots while being highly successful at driving to the basket.

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


With 3:55 left in the first half, Hudson Reed's layup gave the Jaguars a 28-16 lead. Reed led the team with a career-best 23 points plus 6 rebounds. As a team, the Jaguars shot 53 percent from the floor while making 8 out of 11 free throw shots.

The boys' basketball team improves to 1-2 in the CMC and 4-6 overall. Next: they host Royalton in a CMC game on Thursday this week. Kimball Area is 2-2 in the CMC and 3-9 overall.

In a non-conference border battle in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team took a 72-61 loss to Minnewaska Area. After falling behind 17-6 to start the game, the Jaguars rallied in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 30-28 lead at the break.

In the opening minute of the second half, Macey Roering's layup made it a 32-28 lead. The Lakers then scored inside twice before connecting three straight times from beyond the arc. With 13:25 left in the game, the Lakers had a 41-32 lead after a 13-0 run.

Here's a video recorded late in the second half tonight:


Minnewaska Area, a contender in the West Central Conference and in Section 3AA, improved to 11-2 overall. B-B-E's five-game winning streak ends tonight, and they are 10-3 overall.

Excellent 81 percent free throw shooting kept them in the game, and they connected on 14 of 17 free throw shots in the second half. Kacey Fischer led the team with 23 points. From the floor, the Jaguars shot 33 percent (19-of-56).

The Jaguars don't have much time to lick their wounds, as they now have a tough road trip to Holdingford this Thursday night in a CMC game.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website will be updated on Thursday morning: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 13:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 42, Maple Lake 36

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 13:
Holdingford 79, Maple Lake 30

Area girls' basketball scores on January 13:
Foley 79, Holdingford 35
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 82, Eden Valley-Watkins 47
Braham 70, Pine River-Backus 56 (10th-ranked PR-B's first loss of the season)
Kimball Area 39, Annandale 32
St. Cloud Cathedral 66, Melrose Area 63
Sauk Centre 60, Albany 45
BOLD 79, Central MN Christian 60
Upsala 71, Browerville 42
Swanville 57, Benson 40
Brandon-Evansville 59, Battle Lake 57
Underwood 73, Hancock 51
Parkers Prairie 56, Border West 45

Knights of Columbus free throw shooting contest is January 25 (VIDEOS)

This is exciting news for area youth basketball players.

The Knights of Columbus will host their annual youth free throw shooting contest on Sunday, January 25 at the Sauk Centre high school multi-purpose room. This features boys and girls divisions for ages 9 to 14. Registration is at 12:30 p.m., and the contest starts at 1 p.m.

Note: entrants can compete in only one local competition.

The Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten hosted the Big Grove-Crow River-Grace Lutheran Parish youth group for an Overtime youth night, which was open to all 7th-12th graders at B-B-E high school.

Here's a video from that night in Brooten:


Tonight: the girls' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area; and the boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area. Game updates will follow much later tonight.

Here's an exterior video view of Lincoln's Seafood and Steakhouse in Brooten:


The view around the building at night is beautiful, and the light snowfall just added to the scenery.

*Halftime: BBE 43, Kimball 21.

Another busy stretch ahead (VIDEOS)

I'm still reviewing wrestling results from the Minnewaska Invitational, which was held this past Friday.

Noah Jensen, a freshman, won the 114-pound title and now has a 23-2 overall record this season.

Here's action from the last few minutes of the first half against Hancock on Tuesday, January 6:


And here's the last couple of minutes of the Paynesville game on Friday:


The school board (at Brooten) and Brooten city council meets tomorrow night. No rest whatsoever in the Bonanza Valley Voice universe! Monday night features no varsity events. On Tuesday, the girls' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area, and the boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area. The girls' hockey team travels to Willmar for a Central Lakes Conference game.

Update...
The Brooten city council meeting agenda will be posted late on Monday afternoon to the Bonanza Valley Voice editor's blog. The direct link to view that is: BrootenCouncilAgenda.

Girls' basketball Jaguars overpower Bulldogs in strong 2nd half (VIDEO)

Saturday, January 10 notice: don't forget that today, Saturday, Marcia's Bar and Grill will host a Glacial Ridge A.B.A.T.E. meat raffle! It will heat up some time after 4 p.m., likely once the bar bingo crowd starts heading south from the Kade Shack


The visiting Paynesville Area Bulldogs proved a formidable opponent in the first half for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. In a home Central Minnesota Conference game tonight, the Jaguars led 22-20 at halftime. Led by a 20-point performance by Kacey Fischer, the Jaguars won 57-37 to improve to 5-0 in the league.

Cold shooting hurt the Jaguars across the game, but 10-of-14 free throw shooting in the second half helped them to rack up 35 points in the last 18 minutes. For the game, the Jaguars were 14-of-20 from the line with 26 percent overall field goal shooting.

The girls' basketball team now prepares for another home border battle, with Minnewaska Area coming to town next Tuesday, January 13.

Here's video from the first half of tonight's game with under 8 minutes left:


Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 9:
Eden Valley-Watkins 53, Holdingford 50
Royalton 67, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 43
Kimball Area 53, Maple Lake 22

I'm in a considerable delay with sports blogging tonight. It's all good - I've been enjoying the evening in downtown Brooten with time split between Lincoln's Steakhouse and Lucky Shots Bowling Alley. The town of Brooten was hopping tonight! We are blessed.

I'm still in the process of catching up on wrestling results from the Minnewaska Invitational.

In boys' basketball action tonight...
In their CMC game at home, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team faced defending champion Holdingford in Brooten. The Huskers built a 43-20 halftime lead on 55 percent field goal shooting. In the second half, the Jaguars played much better defense in a 64-44 loss. Hudson Reed led the Jaguars with 17 points.

The Huskers improve to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the CMC.

The boys' basketball team hosts Kimball Area next Tuesday in another CMC game.

And finally...in wrestling news...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team had what is likely the best night of the season so far after they turned in a 4th-place finish out of 11 teams at Minnewaska Area high school tonight. The Jaguars racked up 214.5 team points while out-placing fifth-place Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (201.5 points) and Wabasso (184 points). The host Lakers were champions with 558 points.

In girls' hockey news...
At Hutchinson last night, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team defeated the host Tigers by a 2-1 score. This squares their overall record at 8-8. Next for the Stars is a road game at Willmar in Central Lakes Conference action next Tuesday, January 13.

In college basketball news...
In an incredible collegiate performance for the ages, B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Kaden Pieper scored 45 points to help lead the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars to a 106-91 win at Martin Lutheran College in New Ulm on Wednesday this week. The 45 points is the second-most scored in UMM program history and the most points scored by any men's player in a single game at UMM since the 1964-65 season. Crazy.

Area boys' basketball scores on January 9:
Central MN Christian 101, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 39
Litchfield 67, Eden Valley-Watkins 56
Melrose Area 76, Royalton 62
New London-Spicer 78, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 66
West Central Area 78, Brandon-Evansville 39
Osakis 59, Upsala 58
Benson 71, Hancock 64
MACCRAY 70, Minneota 65
Ortonville 52, Renville County West 52

Halftime update

At halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a 22-20 lead over Paynesville Area. Meanwhile, the boys' basketball team is competing at home against Holdingford. The wrestling team is at Minnewaska Area, and the Pirouettes dance team is in Grove City.

Updates and final scores to follow in a new blog post.

Game updates at Eden Valley

A tough start has the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team in a double-digit hole in the first half at Eden Valley-Watkins. With 11 minutes to go, the Eagles hold an 18-7 lead. Seconds later, they expanded that to 21-7 on a three-pointer.

With 9:15 left, Taylor Pieper scored under the basket.

Update: abysmal, flat-footed interior defense by the Jaguars has contributed to the Eagles forging a 36-21 halftime lead.

With 8:48 left in the game, the Eagles have a 49-34 lead.

With 1:36 left in the game, the Eagles have a 60-48 lead. Final: EV-W 63, B-B-E 50. The Eagles improve to 2-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference and 3-4 overall.

Here's action from the first half of the Hancock game on Tuesday night:


The wrestling team was in Minneota tonight.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 8:
Holdingford 89, Royalton 44
Kimball Area 92, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 63
Paynesville Area 73, Maple Lake 39

Area boys' basketball scores on January 8:
Melrose Area 64, Sauk Centre 49
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 91, BOLD 35
Border West 71, Parkers Prairie 66
Hancock 76, Battle Lake 44
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 66, Ashby 38
Underwood 83, Rothsay 60
Dawson-Boyd 92, Canby 44
Alexandria 94, Fergus Falls 61
Willmar 70, Becker 62
New York Mills 62, Browerville 52
Minnewaska Area 51, West Central Area 40
Montevideo 84, MACCRAY 34

Girls' basketball Jaguars knock down Royalton!

What an incredible road win!

In what was by far the biggest Central Minnesota Conference road win in years, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team upended Royalton tonight 58-53 to stay unbeaten in the league. The Royals fall to 4-6 overall and 3-1 in the CMC. Last season, Royalton went 28-1 with a loss in the Section 6AA championship game to Sauk Centre. In the CMC, they were a perfect 14-0.

The Jaguars fought tooth and nail through a difficult first half and trailed 32-29 at halftime.

Trailing 47-44 with under 7 minutes left, Kacey Fischer earned a three-point play to knot it up at 47-all.

Going inside of 4 minutes left, the Jaguars fell behind 49-47. With 2:30 left, Royalton's bench was hit with a technical foul. Kacey Fischer proceeded to make both technical free throws to force a 49-49 tie.

Incredible, lights-out defense down the stretch limited the Royals to just 4 points the rest of the way. The Jaguars led 58-51 in the final 30 seconds before Royalton's freshman sensation Chloe Reedy connected on 2 free throws with 2.5 seconds left. That was all she wrote.

More to come later. I have a lot of notes to comb through!

Let's back up briefly to earlier this evening with the boys' basketball game against Hancock. The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosted the Owls in a key Section 6A game. Down 30-21 at halftime, the Jaguars played valiantly against a super athletic Hancock team. Cold shooting from the floor and at the line was costly in a double-digit loss by a score of 66-53.

Hancock shot 44 percent from the floor, while the Jaguars made just 29 percent of their field goals. B-B-E was an abysmal 9-for-24 at the free throw line.

Here's the JV Jaguars in action against Hancock...with the game-winning shot featured:


Reid Dickhoff, a 5'10 guard, is the lone junior on the team. He scored with 7.1 seconds left and made a free throw to boot. JV game final score: B-B-E 54, Hancock 51.

I have to attack sports writing. Deadline is screaming at me; the printing press runs at 6 a.m.!

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 6:
Eden Valley-Watkins 56, Maple Lake 21
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 59, Paynesville Area 40
Kimball Area 59, Holdingford 47

GAME NIGHT! Home and away

The girls' basketball team is in Royalton, while the boys' basketball team is hosting Hancock. The JV boys' basketball team defeated the Owls 54-51 after Reid Dickhoff earned a three-point play with 7 seconds to go in regulation. The junior scored on the left block to break a 51-51 tie. The varsity boys' game should tip off at 7 p.m.

Halftime in Royalton: Royals 32, Jaguars 29.

Girls' basketball overpowers Maple Lake in strong second half (VIDEOS)

A 39-point outburst in the second half paved the way for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team to earning a 65-39 win against visiting Maple Lake tonight. The Jaguars launched a total of 89 field goals in the game. Their final shooting percentage was 28. Mya Worms led the charge with 14 points.

B-B-E was coming off of a 9-day layoff, with their last game coming on Saturday, December 27 in Sartell. The rust was a mighty obstacle to overcome in the first half, and the Jaguars missed all 9 three-point attempts in the first 18 minutes.

The sledding gets "100 times" tougher, as the Jaguars now prepare for a road trip to Royalton. There's no time to rest, as this road trip takes place tomorrow. The Royals, defending CMC champions, are 4-5 overall (3-0 CMC).

Here's a video featuring the National Anthem plus starter introductions and the opening tip-off:


The opening minutes of the game brought a mighty struggle as the Jaguars took time to find their shot. Through 5 1/2 minutes of play, the Irish led 9-2, and B-B-E's only points were from Kacey Fischer's field goal at the 15:53 mark.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Coming tomorrow: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosts Hancock in a key Section 6A game. The Owls are 5-2 overall and currently ranked No. 7 in Section 6A. The Jaguars are ranked No. 13. Overall, Section 6A includes 23 teams.

I've been slowly getting this winter sports photo album caught up: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Winter-Sports-25-26.

GAME NIGHT! The Irish are in town

A JV and varsity night is underway on the home floor for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, who is facing Maple Lake. The JV Jaguars held a 26-15 lead at halftime and ended up winning in a blowout. I didn't write down the final score. It was by at least 30 points.

The varsity Irish team holds a 1-6 overall record; they are 0-2 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Maple Lake's lone win was by a 48-46 score in Maple Lake on December 5 against St. John's Prep.

The varsity game should get going at 7:10 p.m.

Update: with 8:23 left in the first half, the Jaguars took their first lead of the game with Kamie Fischer scoring in the paint. This gave B-B-E a 12-11 lead.

Halftime: B-B-E 26, Maple Lake 16. The Jaguars had a nice flurry of action in the last 2 minutes to expand a 20-15 lead to the 10-point halftime margin.

Live music begins at Lincoln's Seafood and Steakhouse (VIDEOS*)

Lincoln's in Brooten featured their first live music performance since the bar and restaurant re-opened for the first time since 2017.

On Saturday, December 27, the Tanner Stark Band performed at the Main Theater stage at Lincoln's. Although the foggy weather made for poor travel conditions, those who were fortunate enough to attend the concert had a great time.

Here's a link you can click through to watch a video of the Tanner Stark Band performing that night in Brooten: TannerStarkBandLincolns.

Coming tonight: the Belgrade VFW hosts a pork chop and steak fry. They serve from 5 to 7:30 p.m., and the event also features a meat raffle. I hope to see you there!

And now it's Sunday after church...
Last night, during and after I attended the VFW pork chop/steak fry in Belgrade, I watched the Valley City State University women's basketball team in a home game against the University of Providence of Montana. B-B-E's Tiyana Schwinghammer, a junior, is a current VCSU starter. In what was a low-scoring game through the middle of the third quarter, the Vikings battled back from down 16 points in the first half. They trailed 35-27 at halftime. With just over 3 minutes left in the third quarter, a steal and breakaway layup by Schwinghammer forced the game's first tie at 36-36. The Vikings ultimately lost 67-65. With 8 seconds to go, Schwinghammer knocked down a downtown three-pointer under pressure to force a 65-65 tie. The Argos then scored at the buzzer on a point-blank shot under the basket to erase a possible overtime session. The Providence player released her shot inside the right block with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

Here's the Trinity Lutheran choir in Brooten performing this morning at worship:


The last portion of Christmas-related coverage for 2025 will be published in the January 8 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Jaguars fifth at home invitational (VIDEO)

Noah Jensen's championship finish at 114 pounds helped lead the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team to earn 5th place tonight at their home invitational. A total of 10 teams plus B-B-E were in attendance. B-B-E had 106 team points, which put them ahead of Pipestone Area, who finished 6th with 78.5 points. In fourth was Osakis with 123 points. Watertown-Mayer/Mayer-Lutheran won the team title with 254 points.

In the 114-pound finals, Jensen won by fall (1:17) against WM/ML's Blake Brose.

At 133 pounds, Jude Oeltjenbruns had a strong finish to his night by earning a pin (1:06) in the fifth-place match against Sibley East's Alex Thomes.

At 139 pounds, Noah DeRoo took second place.

At 145 pounds, Jace Mueller took second place.

At 160, Aiden Mueller finished in third place with a thrilling win by an 11-10 decision in his final match of the night. His opponent was senior Jacob Hidalgo of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. In the opening seconds of the second period, Aiden fell behind 7-1. In the closing seconds of that period, he pulled in front by an 8-7 score with 4 near-fall points.

Here's a video featuring a large portion of Aiden Mueller's final match of the night:


Next: the wrestling team travels to Minneota for a triangular next Thursday, January 8. The third team included is Canby.

And a quick update on today's Highway 71 car crash...the vehicles were from out of our area. The accident claimed at least one life. I do not have confirmation on whether or not a second person died. It appears that it was a head-on type crash right at the gentle curve of Highway 71 located 3 miles south of Elrosa.

Additional updates and video will be added to this blog post on Saturday morning.

Area boys' basketball scores on January 2:
Braham 74, Upsala 66
Ashby 84, Floodwood 29
Park Christian 64, Rothsay 42
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 73, Paynesville Area 71

Area girls' basketball scores on January 2:
Henning 75, Ortonville 25
Braham 68, Upsala 34
K-M-S 69, Paynesville Area 26
Sauk Centre 71, Holdingford 34
Aitkin 53, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 44

Jaguar Invitational is today

To kick off 2026, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school will host the Jaguar Invitational today, Friday, January 2 at 2:30 p.m. Teams invited include Watertown-Mayer, Sibley East, Red Rock Central, Pipestone Area, Ottertail Central, Osakis, Marshall, Milaca, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville and Eden Valley-Watkins.

My wrestling blogging was interrupted this evening with word of a serious accident on Highway 71 right north of the County Road 175 intersection. I know that Kurt and Michelle Herickhoff and kids are all okay. None of them were involved in the crash. It appears that it was a violent, head-on crash. Not good.

The finals tonight will get going around 7:30 p.m. Jace Mueller will go for 1st place at 145, Noah DeRoo will go for 1st at 139.

UPDATES:

At 114, Noah Jensen took first place with a pin in the finals.

Happy New Year! (VIDEO)

Happy New Year from the sports department of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Part of my family enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria on New Year's Eve with well over a dozen other B-B-E area families. (We're still there.)

Here's the last seconds of the countdown at midnight in Alexandria:


Through the short video, basically everyone shown are B-B-E families. It made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening as the year of 2025 came to a conclusion.

With PayPal, I created a convenient payment link for out-of-area subscriptions. The link is: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/JULR2NCJ75HX4. Out-of-area subscriptions currently cost $37 a year. This includes all subscribers who do not live in these counties of central Minnesota: Pope, Swift, Kandiyohi and Stearns. If you're a new subscriber, you'll have to email me your address to get yourself added: lifeinbonanzavalley@gmail.com.

I'm not sure how much worshiping you were able to participate in over the Christmas holiday season. Hopefully you got a fair amount! I've added video from Trinity Lutheran church in Brooten to the newspaper website. This video was recorded on Christmas Eve last week: TrinityBrootenChristmasEve.