The Jackson County Central boys basketball team bounced back on Thursday night and could make a little history on Friday afternoon.
The Huskies went back and forth with Perham in the first half before opening up a 37-24 halftime lead in the Class AA consolation semifinal. The Yellowjackets pulled within three points but JCC pulled away to the 69-55 consolation semifinal victory.
FULL POST GAME SHOW
The 26th win of the season tied a JCC program record set in 2017 by the team that followed up the Huskies’ AA runner-up squad from their 2016 State debut.
Roman Voss posted a double-double with game highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds plus five assists. Weston and Blaise Rowe each scored 12 points. Blaise made a trio of three-pointers in the second half with his entire dozen coming from beyond the arc. Weston added six rebounds and a block as well.
Ben Gallagher and Carter Buhl each added nine points. Gallagher matched Voss for the game high with five assists. Buhl grabbed a game-high four steals. Mason Foster and Carson Doescher each knocked down a three-pointer. Sullivan Hall had two points and a pair of blocks.
Waseca outlasted Blake 52-50 in the nightcap. The 24-8 Bluejays are led by NDSU football commit Deron Russell, who tied the single-game State Tournament record with 51 points in the quarterfinal round.
Our coverage of the consolation championship inside the Gangelhoff Center at Concordia University in St. Paul is expected to start at 1:45 with the tip-off scheduled for 2:00 on KKOJ.
Class A finally got underway on Thursday inside the Target Center.
Top-seeded Henning took another step toward a possible second state championship with a 61-45 win over Upsala. Hills-Beaver Creek hung on for a 72-69 win over Southland in the State debut for both programs. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton powered to the 81-72 victory over Cherry. Red Lake County spoiled the State debut of Liberty Classical Academy with sharp shooting in the 85-63 rout.
Henning will play Hills-Beaver Creek and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton gets Red Lake County in Friday’s semifinals inside Williams Center.
The consolation semifinals featuring Upsala and Southland along with Cherry and Liberty Classical Academy begin Friday’s action at CSP.
Class AAA has the championship matchup ready to go for Saturday.
Top-seeded Totino-Grace powered past Northfield 89-61 to earn the chance to play for a fourth title in five years. DeLaSalle survived Richfield 73-70 for a third title game appearance in the last five years.
Northfield and Richfield will play for Third Place on Friday.
The AAA consolation title game will feature Mankato East and Sartell-St. Stephen.
Mankato East outlasted Minneapolis South 69-66 and Sartell-St. Stephen overcame Grand Rapids 72-64 in the consolation semifinals.
Class AAAA featured a pair of semifinal upsets.
Fifth-seeded Chaska denied unbeaten top seed Tartan 70-61 and will look for a 25th straight win in the title game. Seventh-seeded Apple Valley knocked off third-seeded Maple Grove 73-63 to set up the first 5v7 seed matchup in the championship ever.
Tartan and Apple Valley will play for Third Place on Friday.
The Class AAAA consolation championship includes a little more chalk with the higher seeds of Lakeville South and Wayzata prevailing.
Lakeville South bounced Blaine 82-57 and Wayzata ran past Alexandria 89-60 in the consolation semifinals.