The Jackson County Central boys basketball team still has hardware to play for entering Thursday at the State Tournament.
JCC meets Perham in the Class AA consolation semifinals inside the Gangelhoff Center at Concordia University in St. Paul.
The 25-7 Huskies lost Tuesday night’s 4v5 quarterfinal 85-49 against Albany, a program that is chasing a third State title in four years.
JCC head coach Alex Hein says he’s glad they have a little time to turn the page.
COACH INTERVIEW
Perham had the #8 seed in the bracket after earning the 8AA championship. The Yellowjackets dropped to 18-13 overall after losing to top-seeded Goodhue 70-49 in the other Tuesday quarterfinal. Perham rattled off nine straight victories including a pair of upsets during the section tournament after a 9-12 start.
Coach Hein says both teams are facing a big mental challenge as they look to make the best of this opportunity.
Our coverage on Thursday begins at 5:45 with the tip-off scheduled for 6:00 on KKOJ.
If JCC wins on Thursday, they will play in the consolation championship on Friday afternoon.
Albany earned a semifinal date with Goodhue on Friday night inside Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
The other side of the bracket started Wednesday night at UM.
Pequot Lakes took down Blake 69-60 in the early quarterfinal. Minnehaha Academy survived Waseca 77-69 despite 51 points from Deron Russell in the Wednesday nightcap.
Pequot Lakes will play Minnehaha Academy on Friday night for a spot in the AA title game. Blake gets Waseca in the other consolation semifinal.
The Class AAA quarterfinals took place inside Williams Arena.
Totino-Grace advanced to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season with a 90-56 win over Minneapolis South. Northfield recorded an opening victory for the first time in nearly a century with a 56-49 victory over Mankato East. DeLaSalle rolled past Grand Rapids 87-37 on the other side of the bracket. Richfield outlasted Sartell 72-62 in the last quarterfinal.
Totino-Grace will play Northfield and DeLaSalle meets Richfield in the championship semifinals. Minneapolis South takes on Mankato East and Grand Rapids has Sartell in the consolation semifinals.
In the Class AAAA bracket…
Tartan will play Chaska and Apple Valley gets Maple Grove in Thursday’s championship semifinals. Blaine meets Lakeville South and Wayzata has a date with Alexandria in the consolation bracket.
The Class A quarterfinals are on Thursday inside the Target Center. Hills-Beaver Creek is one of three programs debuting at the State Tournament in that class this year.