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BEA takes on two teams in Tournament

By Staff | Dec 14, 2014

In their first tournament of the season, the Blue Earth Area boys basketball team hit the road to face off against two southern Minnesota teams at the 2014 Maple River Hardwood Classic Tournament last Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6.

First up, the Bucs took on the Maple River Eagles in a fight against the clock, which ultimately resulted in a loss for the maroon and gold, 71-54.

The Eagles dominated the first half of the game, reclaiming five offensive rebounds and snatching a whopping 15 defensive rebounds.

No. 23 Grant Sonnek carried the Eagles, banking 25 points and seven rebounds. He also claimed the first big play of the game with the Eagles’ only block against Bucs No. 11, Derek Johnson.

Point guard Conor Barnett took home 18 points for BEA and hit the only 3-point shot for the Bucs in the first half.

Barnett slighted the Eagles by taking four of the six steals and two of the nine assists for the Buccaneers that night, while Johnson trailed only slightly behind nabbing four rebounds and two of BEA’s six 3-point shots.

Despite Maple River’s 26 fouls and six turnovers by the end of the night, BEA had trouble keeping up.

With a strong start, Maple River had speed and precision on their side throughout the game.

In the second game, BEA challenged the Jordan High School Hubmen, who had lost their first game of the tournament against Minnehaha Academy the day before.

This time, the Hubmen went home as winners by defeating the Buccaneers, 85-74.

In an impressive game that took an unexpected turn near the middle of the second half, BEA had trouble finding momentum as JHS hit for 16 2-pointers and two 3-point shots within the first quarter of the game.

However, the Bucs slowly crept up on the Hubmen, ending the first half trailing by only 10 points, 45-35.

After a timeout, BEA stormed back onto the court having found their steam.

In a exciting third quarter, Barnett and No. 31 Bailey Olson drove home three 2-point baskets, which laid the foundation for BEA’s comeback when Johnson reclaimed the game with three 3-pointers, leveling the game at an even 50-50.

However, JHS made a hasty recovery and bounced back when the Hubman’s Mitchell Peterson mirrored Derek Johnson’s comeback by scoring two 2-pointers, putting JHS back in the lead, 60-50.

The Bucs kept up with the JHS team, but could not close the 10-point gap; the Hubmen took the win, 85-74.

The BEA boys basketball team played against Fairmont last Friday; however, that was after the Faribault County Register’s deadline, so the results will be featured in the next issue.