The Jackson County Central boys basketball team captured a historic consolation prize at the State Tournament on Friday.
The Huskies came back and held on by the skin of their teeth to win the consolation championship 66-65 over Waseca. The 27th victory of the season set a new JCC single-season program record for wins.
Huskies head coach Alex Hein says the instant classic is exactly the kind of game they expected.
LATE GAME SEQUENCE AND FULL POST GAME SHOW
JCC scored first and exchanged the lead with the Bluejays a few times in the opening minutes. Waseca grew the lead to 23-13 in the middle part of the first half. JCC narrowed the gap to 32-29 at halftime. The Huskies tied the game at 40 early in the second half and the teams were tied or exchanging the lead for the rest of the game.
JCC trailed by two points in the final minute when Waseca committed a technical foul. Roman Voss made one of the free throws and then converted off the glass on the ensuing offensive possession to put the Huskies back out front for good.
Ben Gallagher and the JCC defense delivered the needed stops in the closing seconds.
Gallagher also had a game-high six assists.
Roman Voss reached 2,000 career points before halftime and then added 13 more in the second half for a game-high 21 points.
Voss added 11 rebounds for a double-double plus five assists.
Weston Rowe flirted with his own double-double by collecting 17 points and nine rebounds.
He also grabbed a pair of steals and finished in third place on the all-time JCC boys scoring list.
Mason Foster hit four three-pointers and finished with a career-high 14 points along with four assists. Sullivan Hall collected eight points and Blaise Rowe hit a pair of three-pointers to add six points.
The 27-7 Huskies finished fifth place in Class AA among 128 teams.
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STATE CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN BOYS BASKETBALL
The Minnesota State High School League crowned boys basketball champions in all four classes inside Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Saturday.
Fifth-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek finished off the program’s State Tournament debut by pulling away to a dominant 64-33 victory over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in Class A.
Minnehaha Academy captured its sixth state championship and first since 2021 with an 81-69 victory over top-seeded Goodhue in Class AA.
Top-seeded Totino-Grace captured a fourth title in five years by turning away No. 2 DeLaSalle 72-70 in Class AAA.
No. 5 Chaska beat No. 7 Apple Valley 63-55 in the Class AAAA battle of underdogs for a 25th straight victory and became the first seed lower than No. 4 to ever win a championship.