Jaxon Boschee 17 points away from record; Jacks roll past Monticello

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Dec. 30—BEMIDJI — Jim Jensen is officially on Jaxon Boschee watch.

A graduate from Bemidji High School in 1978, Jensen is still the Lumberjacks' all-time leading scorer with 1,763 points.

But that record is in serious jeopardy. Boschee led the BHS boys basketball team with 27 points Tuesday afternoon against Monticello, putting him at 1,746 career points. He enters Saturday's matchup on the road against Buffalo just 17 points away from the record.

Knowing Boschee as he does, head coach Steve Thompson expects him to be calm and focused on the game rather than the record.

"Jaxon has stayed steady throughout his entire high school career, and he competes hard in the game to win the game," he said. "And whatever that takes is what he does, and so I don't expect that to be any different going into Saturday."

His 27 points were critical in the Jacks' 81-71 win over the Magic on Tuesday. With Rhys Sneide and Austin Riewer scoring 21 points each, the trio accounted for 85% of Bemidji's total.

The Jacks started hot early, going on a 14-2 run in the first four minutes. Riewer accounted for seven points in that stretch. He ended the first half with 14 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.

On the other side of the court, Riewer was commanding the defense, not allowing any Magic player to get open looks to begin the game.

"Austin came out with great energy on the defensive end, and he was great in communication on that end of the floor," Thompson said. "It's always fun when you're making some shots, too."

Bemidji led by as much as 23 when it took a 43-22 lead into halftime. Monticello came out firing, though, going on a 12-4 run to open the second half to cut the lead to 47-34.

But the Jacks had a secret defensive weapon whenever the Magic started getting shots to drop. They would occasionally call for an aggressive defensive play to control the tempo.

Just as the Magic point guard crosses half court, two or three Lumberjacks would aggressively surround him, catching him off guard. This caused the Monticello player to pass in a panic, most of the time forcing a turnover. It was called sparingly, but was deployed at just the right times when Bemidji needed an offensive boost.

"We're just trying to control the tempo and throw different looks at the offensive team and alignment," Thompson said. "It was based on what they were doing and then just looking for a little momentum."

Bemidji found its stride mid-half. It went on a 14-4 run, led by Boschee's seven points, to take a 61-40 lead.

While Riewer and Boschee received more and more attention from the Monticello defense, Sneide took advantage. He scored 11 points in the second half, going 7-for-10 from the charity stripe.

"A lot of attention is drawn when you have a shooter like Jaxon, a player like Austin," Thompson said. "And so things open up for other people, but they have to actually make the plays. We have guys like Rhys that are making those plays right now."

Monticello's Carson Deibele was a man possessed late in the game, scoring 23 points in the second half alone. He tried to will the Magic back into the contest, but the Jacks' offense kept making shots, putting the game out of reach. Deibele ended the afternoon with 30 points, 14 more than any of his teammates.

BHS (6-2) continues its hot streak after starting 0-2. It has not lost since Dec. 4, a 76-73 loss against Detroit Lakes.

The Jacks will have one of their toughest tests yet this Saturday against Buffalo. They have started the season 7-0, including an 82-43 shellacking of Monticello Dec. 5.

Nevertheless, Thompson was proud of the Lumberjacks' performance Tuesday and is glad to keep the momentum going heading into the big Section 8-4A battle.

"This is a big win for us on our home court," Thompson said. "And it was fun, too."

Bemidji 81, Monticello 71

BHS 43 38 — 81

MON 22 49 — 71

Bemidji — Boschee 27, Riewer 21, Sneide 21, Tverstol 7, Bondy 3, Huesby 2.

Monticello — Deibele 30, Nebben 16, Miller 11, Deah 7, Moore 4, Disch 3.

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