The Jackson County Central boys basketball team has a state-ranked clash with a familiar playoff foe against Montevideo in Marshall on Saturday.
The Huskies meet the Thunderhawks in the Section 3AA Tournament South sub-section championship and the section semifinal round at SMSU. JCC is the #2 South seed, ranked #8 in the latest Class AA Prep Hoops poll, and receiving votes in the coaches poll. Monte is the top South seed, listed at #3 by Prep Hoops, and checking in at #4 in the coaches poll.
JCC lost to Montevideo on January 10 and then built a 13-game winning streak down the regular season homestretch.
Huskies head coach Alex Hein says they learned valuable lessons from that loss that will apply to Saturday’s rematch.
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The 26-2 Thunderhawks moved over into the South sub-section this year and only lost to the unbeaten top-ranked North seed Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta. Monte routed Redwood Valley and outlasted Luverne in the first two rounds. The 23-6 Huskies knocked out Pipestone and Fairmont to earn their third straight trip to Marshall.
The teams have mutual regular-season wins over Pipestone and Redwood Valley. The Huskies split with Luverne in Monte did beat Marshall by 18 while the Huskies lost by two points.
The Huskies finished sixth place at the State Tournament in 2024 but the Hawks denied a repeat trip by one point in the section title game last year. Montevideo took fifth place by winning the State consolation bracket in their first appearance since 2009.
Our coverage on Saturday begins at 12:15 with the tip-off scheduled for 12:30 p.m. inside the RA Facility at SMSU in Marshall.
The winner gets either Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta or Litchfield with that North sub-section title game following the JCC-Montevideo matchup on Saturday. The section championship happens on Thursday, March 12 with the tip-off at 8:00 p.m. at SMSU.