Mainstreeter boys lose shootout in overtime

The Mainstreeters boys' basketball team lost a shoot out against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City by a 91-89 final score in overtime on Friday night. Sauk Centre trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half before storming back to force overtime with the score tied 80-80 after regulation play ended.

The Mainstreeters shot just under 50 percent by launching 74 field goals and hitting 35 of them. They were 9-of-23 on the three-point line and 10-of-15 at the free throw line. Josh Buschette's 23 points and five three-pointers led Sauk Centre, who fell to 7-2 overall.

It was their first West Central Conference loss after a 3-0 start in the league.

Exciting thriller won by Fusion swimming and diving team

At the Dassel-Cokato pool against Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato tonight, the Melrose-Sauk Centre Fusion boys' swimming and diving team picked up their third win of the season against no losses by a 96-90 score.

Co-head coach James Schreiner reported that the Fusion didn't lead the entire night until after the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. Facing a sizeable deficit in the team points, the Fusion got a huge 1st/2nd finish in the 100 backstroke with John Schwieters and Isaac Schreiner gaining the top two spots.

In the 100 breaststroke, the Fusion got a crucial 2nd/3rd/4th finish to gain momentum before clinching the win with great performances in the last event.

M-SC now has a ragged practice schedule around the Christmas holiday before traveling to a very tough Brainerd tournament on Friday, Dec. 27.

Read more coach's comments from the past week of action in this week's Sauk Centre Herald.

A few other sports updates from tonight:
The Mainstreeters boys' basketball team stayed undefeated in the West Central Conference with an 85-70 win over visiting Minnewaska Area. They led 45-34 at the break.

The Prairie Centre Area boys' hockey team won their sixth game in a row with a 6-2 final score at the Benson Civic Arena over the winless Morris/Benson Area Storm. The North Stars are 6-3 overall and put their win streak on the line against undefeated (7-0) and fourth-ranked St. Cloud Cathedral tomorrow night (Dec. 20) at the MAC in St. Cloud.

This was noteworthy: the Melrose Area Dutchmen boys' basketball team defeated a very good Montevideo squad tonight in a WCC game by a final score of 64-63 in overtime. They've got a big day coming up for their basketball program on Saturday...be sure to read a copy of the Melrose Beacon to learn more about that.

Tomorrow night, the Mainstreeters boys' and girls' basketball teams travel to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City high school for a WCC double-header. The varsity girls play at 6 p.m. in the main gymnasium, while the B-squad boys play at that time in the auxiliary gym. They switch for the nightcap around 7:45 p.m., when the varsity boys and B-squad girls tip off.

Mixed bag for varsity sports teams

The good news first.

In non-conference boys' hockey action tonight, Prairie Centre Area defeated Redwood Valley/BOLD 8-2 in Redwood County. The North Stars improve to 5-3 overall and travel to Benson this Thursday to face Morris/Benson Area (0-7) in a Section 6A match up.

The Mainstreeters girls' basketball team pounded on Paynesville Area in an 82-40 win.

The Melrose-Sauk Centre Fusion boys' swimming and diving team defeated visiting Alexandria 99-87 in an exciting home dual win.

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team (2-5 overall) dropped two West Central Conference duals in a home triangular. They lost 45-25 to Quad County and 39-31 to Paynesville Area. In the other dual, Quad County topped Paynesville 39-33.

At St. Cloud, the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team suffered their first loss of the year by a 63-58 final score to St. Cloud Cathedral. The Crusaders are 6-2 overall, while the Mainstreeters are 6-1. Up next is a home game against Minnewaska Area in a key West Central North Conference meeting this Thursday night.

Read more on all the action in this week's Sauk Centre Herald.