Logan Becker got his 1,000th high school basketball point near the end of the game, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Bucs fell to Fairmont 63-59.

Becker entered the game needing 24 points to hit 1,000 and he ended the night with 25. He was given the game ball after the game was over.

The Blue Earth Area boys had defeated the Cardinals team in Fairmont earlier in the season in overtime. The game last week Friday, Feb. 1 in Blue Earth was just as exciting.

The game was tied at least four times in the first half and five times in the second half.

Action was fast paced with lots of scoring for the first half of the first half, and was tied at 17 all.

Things slowed down after that, especially for the Bucs who did not score again for the next four minutes. But BEA trailed by just 25-19.

Becker then made a fast cut through traffic and put in a no-look shot that made it 25-21. A three-pointer by Nick Lee made the score 28-24.

However, the Bucs found themselves down 31-24 at the half.

They came out charged up after halftime and quick baskets by Becker, Lee (another three) and Trasamar and suddenly the game was tied again at 33-33.

The Bucs went on to score more, but a series of three-pointers by Fairmont’s Jeff Janssen kept them right in it. The Bucs led 39-36 when a Janssen three tied it, and led 44-39 when Janssen hit free-throws and another three to tie it again. His three when the score had been tied at 46 all put the Cardinals up 49-46 and the Bucs never regained the lead again. Janssen hit one more three to make it 52-48.

The Bucs got close at 54-52 with over five minutes still left, but could not get their shots to fall much after that. Luckily the Cards couldn’t get many shots to fall either.

Other than two free-throws by Trasamar, the Bucs next basket came from Becker with under 30 seconds left in the game. That brought the Bucs to within three at 59-56.

It got to within two points with 8.8 seconds left when Becker hit a three-pointer and the score was 61-59. The Bucs had to foul again and the Cards made the free-throws to make the score 63-59, which was the final. Becker did have one more try at a three that did not go in, and would not have been enough even if it had fallen in.

“They are a great team, and it is always a lot of fun to play them,” Becker said after the game. “Its always a great game whenever we play them, and it would be great every time we played.” He added that it was a nice to reach the 1,000th point plateau. He knew he was within range but said he never thought about it much during the game.

Besides Becker’s 25 points, Lee had 14 and Garrett Anderson had 12. The Bucs held Janssen to just 21 points, which included five three-pointers, all of them contested.

The free-throw line made a big difference in the contest. The Cardinals went to the line 20 times and made 13 of them. The Bucs were only sent to the line three times, and made two of those.

The Bucs had one more rebound than the Cards, 16-15. The Bucs were also 26 of 41 for field goals, including five of 10 from three-point range.

Maple River game postponed – again

Next up for the Bucs should have been a game Monday night against Maple River. It was a game that had been previously postponed due to weather.

On Monday it was postponed once more due to weather and will be played at a later date.

The Buc boys were scheduled to play Waseca this past Friday night, and Kasson-Mantorville on Saturday night. Results will be in next week’s Register.

This week the Bucs host St. Peter on Friday night.