BEA’s Luke Norman (41) drives around the New Ulm defender during the first half of the Eagles’ 71-55 victory over the Bucs on Thursday, Jan. 27. The score was close during the first fourteen minutes, but the Eagles began to pull away in the last four minutes of the opening stanza on their way to a 39-29 halftime lead.

The Blue Earth Area boys basketball team returned to their home floor for the first time in two weeks to host the New Ulm Eagles in a Big South Conference contest on Thursday, Jan. 27.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, the Eagles had too much height and too much firepower for the men in maroon and gold to contend with and New Ulm went home with a 71-55 victory.

The beginning of the game was very entertaining as the two teams battled back-and-forth vying for the lead.

Abe Kokos put the Bucs on the board first with a 3-pointer but the Eagles used two free throws and a 3-pointer of their own to go on top 5-3.

A trey by Ashton Lloyd gave BEA a 6-5 lead.

New Ulm scored eight of the next 10 points to move in front 13-8.

BEA’s Gabe Torres answered with a 3-pointer and then completed a court-length pass to a wide-open Waylen Douglas for an easy basket to tie the game at 13-13.

A drive and layup by Torres gave the Bucs a 15-13 lead with 11:23 remaining in the first half.

Three minutes later New Ulm was back on top 20-17.

A steal by Douglas at midcourt and subsequent layup brought the Bucs to within one point of the Eagles.

New Ulm answered with a basket to increase their lead to three points at 22-19 before Lloyd hit a turn-around jumper and Kokos drained another 3-pointer to put BEA in the lead 24-22.

The Eagles then went on a 13-0 run to take a 35-24 lead.

Lloyd’s trey cut New Ulm’s lead to eight points but the half ended with the Eagles up 39-29.

The second half saw the Eagles continue to pull away and they led by as many as 21 points at one time.

Lloyd led the Bucs with 19 points. Torres, Douglas, Jack Norman and Kokos each finished with eight.

BEA played Windom on Saturday, Jan. 29. Look for the story in next week’s Faribault County Register.

St. Peter 72, BEA 43

The Blue Earth Area boys took the trip north up U.S. Highway 169 to battle the St. Peter Saints in basketball on Monday night, Jan. 24.

It was a very even battle during the opening 12 minutes of the first half before St. Peter began to pull away on their way to a 72-43 victory.

The teams were locked in an 18-18 tie before the Saints outscored the Bucs 17-5 in the final six minutes of the opening stanza to take a 35-23 halftime lead.

St. Peter continued to pull away once the second half began.

The Saints utilized their athleticism and long arms to cause problems for the Bucs. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, St. Peter had increased their lead to 51-32.

The host team had great success shooting the ball from inside of the arc where they made 26 of their 46 attempts (56.5 percent). The Saints scored 50 of their points from inside of the paint.

Meanwhile, the Bucs were only able to get off 24 attempts from two-point range. They made 11 of those shots (46 percent).

Neither team shot 3-pointers very well. The Bucs were 4 for 23 from outside of the arc while the Saints were 5 for 21.

St. Peter held a 47 to 33 rebounding advantage. They had 13 offensive rebounds.

The Saints were also credited with 20 steals compared to two for the Bucs.

Ashton Lloyd, Abram Kokos and Luke Norman each had nine points for BEA. Gabe Torres tallied seven points.

Lloyd finished with eight rebounds. Norman finished with seven.