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BEA boys go 2-1 for week

By Staff | Jan 13, 2013

The boys basketball game between the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers and the Medford Tigers on Tuesday night got pretty exciting at the end.

The Bucs had held on to a slim lead throughout most of the game, but the Tigers kept hanging around and tied the game several times.

BEA was ahead by six points, 52-46 with two minutes left in the game.

But, a pair of three-point shots by Medford near the end of the game drew the Tigers to within three of the Bucs at 55-52 with 19 seconds left on the clock.

An errant inbounds pass under the Medford basket gave the Tigers the ball. The Bucs lost the ball to the Tigers again, with 4.5 seconds left, then had a jump ball situation giving Medford the ball once again with just 2.5 seconds on the clock.

However, a final second attempt by the Tigers for a three-point basket that would tie the game and send it to overtime was off the mark.

The Bucs escaped with a 55-52 win.

After the game was tied at 5-5 early, BEA had built up a 10 point lead at 19-9, only to see it evaporate as Medford tied it again at 19-all.

The game was tied at 25-25 when Buc freshman Colin Squiers hit two free throws to give BEA a two point lead going into the locker room at the half.

Center Luke Monson came out after the break and hit for BEA’s first seven points of the second half, giving the Bucs a 34-27 lead.

Two three-point shots by Squiers kept BEA ahead by five, at 45-40. The Bucs kept a six point lead going into the final couple of minutes.

Monson led the Buccaneers with 18 points, including one three-pointer.

Squiers hit three three-point shots and added a 4 of 5 performance at the free-throw line for 13 points.

Brandyn Olsen added 11 points for the Bucs and Steven Plocker had eight.

BEA, as a team, made 11 of 19 free throws and five three-point shots.

With the Bucs staying relatively free of fouls, Medford only attempted four free-throws in the game, making just one of them. The Tigers did hit on seven three-point attempts.

The visitors were led by Isias Ramirez who had 13 points and Connor Chapple and Alex Spinler who both added 11 points to the tally.

The win upped the Bucs record to 4-3. They are 1-1 in South Central Conference play.

This week the Bucs host the Giants of Le Sueur-Henderson on Tuesday night, in a game that is rescheduled from Nov. 30.

Then on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., the Bucs will take on the Fairmont Cardinals in a double header matchup with the Buccaneer girls also facing the Cards in a 6 p.m. game, both played in the BEA gym.

MCW 67, BEA 46

A bad first half sunk the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers in a game last Monday night.

The Bucs scored 23 points in both the first and second halves of the game against Martin County West.

However, while the Mavericks only scored 24 points in the second half, they had already blistered the nets for 43 points in the first stanza.

MCW claimed the win, 67-46 in a game that had been postponed from its originally scheduled date of Dec. 7.

After falling behind 43-23 at the end of the first half, the Bucs played the Mavericks evenly in the second half.

The closest BEA could get was cutting the deficit to 17 at 60-41 when Brandyn Olsen hit a three-pointer.

Olsen had 12 points in the game, and was 3 of 4 at the free-throw line.

But, it was Buccaneer center Luke Monson who led the team with 18 points. That included one three-pointer and a 3 of 6 performance at the line. Steven Plocker scored eight points and was a perfect 2 of 2 at the charity stripe.

As a team, BEA had four three-point shots and was 8 of 12 from the free-throw line. Besides Olsen and Monson, Derek Johnson and Colin Squiers each hit one.

MCW was led by Austin Krumwiede with 14 points, Kyle Brolsma with 12 and Cordell Weber with 11.

The Mavericks hit five threes in the game and were 6 of 7 from the line.

BEA 80, St. James 75

For a while it seemed to be raining three-pointers in the Blue Earth Area gymnasium on Friday night, Jan. 4.

The Buccaneers of BEA and the Saints of St. James combined for 15 of the long range bombs in the hotly contested game.

But, when the dust settled and the final buzzer sounded, the boys in maroon and gold came out on top, 80-75.

It was Buccaneer sophomore guard Derek Johnson who led the barrage. He accounted for six of the nine buckets from behind the arc for BEA.

Adding two two-point baskets and three (out of four attempted) free-throws, Johnson ended with 25 points.

But, BEA’s junior center, Luke Monson, led all scorers on the night with 34 points. He nailed 12 two point shots, even managed two three-pointers and was 4 of 10 from the free-point line.

St. James six threes of their own helped keep the game close and exciting from beginning to end.

The Bucs kept trying to gain a substantial lead, but each time they did the Saints came right back to tie it or go ahead within seconds.

Take the first few minutes of play for example.

BEA jumped out to a 6-0 lead, with Johnson hitting his first three, but St. James was right back with six points of their own to tie it up.

When the Bucs went up by nine points their biggest lead of the game at 16-7 the Saints once again came back to tie it at 18-18.

Again, BEA led 26-21, but soon the game was tied at 26-all. Then, for the first time in the contest, the Saints enjoyed a lead at 28-26.

Johnson’s next three put BEA ahead 29-28, but St. James immediately answered with a long range three pointer of their own and led 31-29.

The game was tied at 31-all, then 33-all, when Monson hit a three to give the Buccaneers a slim 36-33 lead at the half time buzzer.

The lead was back and forth in the early part of the second stanza. BEA trailed by one when Taylor Olson hit a three to take back the lead, 41-39.

The Bucs went up by five when Johnson hit another three, 50-45. But St. James answered with one of their own to cut the score to 50-48. It went back to a five point lead when Monson hit a three to make it 53-48.

With threes already falling in from everywhere, it suddenly started to really rain the long range bombs.

Within a short few seconds and the score at 55-50 in favor of BEA, Johnson hit a three to make it 58-50, followed by three long-range bombs in a row from the Saints, giving them the lead at 59-58.

That was immediately followed by another Johnson three to put the Bucs ahead 61-59.

BEA’s next basket came from Monson who looked as though he had sunk another three, but had a foot on the line, making it worth just two.

The Bucs never trailed again in the game, but it did get within one point several times.

BEA led 63-62 and 73-72. A basket by Colin Squiers gave the Bucs a little cushion, at 75-72 with just under a minute left in the contest.

Then it was a parade to the free-throw line by Brandyn Olsen, Monson and Johnson which made the final score 80-75.

Overall the Bucs shot 9 of 22 from the line, but made enough at the end of the game to earn the victory.

St. James was 11 of 20 from the line. The Saints were led by Zach Brandts with 26 points and Ryan Menssen with 25.