MINNEAPOLIS - It won’t go into the books as one of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa’s prettier victories, but the Jaguars aren’t complaining about a win that puts them back in the Class A state boys basketball tournament championship game for the third time in four years.
The Jaguars didn’t shoot well and struggled to put away Fond du Lac Ojibwe when they had chances. But their typically solid defense and rebounding were the difference in a 76-58 win on Friday at the Target Center in the Class A semifinals.
“I guess sometimes you have to win on toughness,” said BBE head coach Dave Montbriand. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well but we somehow got it done on the defensive end.”
The Jaguars, 30-1, play at noon Saturday at the Target Center against Rushford-Peterson, a 53-51 winner Friday over Maranatha Christian in the other Class A semifinals game. The Jaguars reached the title game with a 32-0 record before losing the 2011 championship game, and they returned in 2012 and won the title, finishing 33-0. They were eliminated in the section tournament last year.
On Friday, the Jaguars played a streaky game of runs. They led by five points with about 5 minutes left in the first half, then spurted for 10-straight points and had the lead to 17 before FDL closed the gap to 13 at the half.
ADVERTISEMENT
BBE’s lead remained in the double-digit range much of the second half, but FDL whittled it to eight points, at 54-46, with 10 minutes to play. A 12-3 Jaguar run over the next 2-1/2 minutes pushed the edge back up to 17 points and FDL was pretty much done when leading scorer Davonte Williamson, who scored 18 points, fouled out with about seven minutes left.
“We played tough defense and just tried to not let them get open shots,” said BBE guard Trey Heinsius. “We rebounded the ball really well and I think that made a big difference.”
Brian Goodwin suffered through a tough shooting night, hitting 9-of-24 field goals and 6-of-11 free throws, but he led the Jags with 25 points. Billy Borgerding had 21 points and 11 rebounds, James Kuefler had 10 points and 9 rebounds, and Trey Heinsius netted 5 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Jaguars shot 41 percent from the floor but just 3-of-19 from 3-point range. While BBE missed 10 free throws, they did outscore FDL 44-22 in the paint.
But they made amends on defense, forcing FDL into 22 turnovers and winning the rebounding wars 48-39. FDL shot just 34 percent from the field and its worn-down starting five couldn’t manage another comeback attempt late, getting only two points from its bench.
“I’m telling our guys to be happy about the win,” Montbriand said. “We didn’t play well offensively and we won by 18 points. Hopefully that was our bad game of the tournament and we got it out of our system.”
BBE 76, Fond du Lac 58
ADVERTISEMENT
Fond du Lac Ojibwe (24-4) 32 26 - 58
BBE (30-1)..................... 45 31 - 76
FOND DU LAC OJIBWE – 21-62 FG (8-28 3-pt); 8-12 FT; 39 rebounds; 22 fouls … Shooting (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Cameron Thompson 3-8 0-1 7, Davonte Williamson 8-13 0-0 18, Jordan Diver 2-12 2-2 7, Trevontae Brown 3-13 3-3 12, Dexter Delille 4-10 3-6 12, Antonio Flores 0-0 0-0 0, Bruce Martineau 1-6 0-0 2, Devyn Dupuis 0-0 0-0 0, Lester Williamson 0-0 0-0 0, Levi Brisbois 0-0 0-0 0 … 3-point shots: Brown 3-11, D. Williamson 2-3, Thompson 1-3, Diver 1-9, Delille 1-1, Martineau 0-1 … Rebound leaders: Delille 11, D. Williamson 8, Diver 4, Thompson 3, Brown 3 … Assist leaders: Brown 2, Delille 2 … Steal leaders: D. Williamson 2, Delille 2
BELGRADE-BROOTEN-ELROSA – 29-70 FG (3-19 3-pt); 15-25 FT; 48 rebounds; 13 fouls … Shooting (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Tanner Heinsius 2-10 3-4 7, Trey Heinsius 2-5 1-4 5, James Kuefler 5-9 0-0 10, Billy Borgerding 7-16 5-6 21, Brian Goodwin 9-24 6-11 25, David Rodgers 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Schmitz 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Schumann 0-0 0-0 0, Dalon Bitzan 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Benton 4-5 0-0 8 … 3-point shots: Borgerding 2-6, Goodwin 1-5, Ta. Heinsius 0-6, Tr. Heinsius 0-1, Rodgers 0-1 … Rebound leaders: Tr. Heinsius 11, Borgerding 11, Kuefler 9, Benton 7, Goodwin 6 … Assist leaders: Goodwin 4, Ta. Heinsius 2 … Steal leaders: Ta. Heinsius 2, Goodwin 2 … Blocks: Borgerding 4
