If you’re a team that has lost four straight games, playing a team that has won eight straight and is the highest-scoring team in the state in your class doesn’t seem to be a good formula for success.
But, behind a school-record performance by senior Travis Rogotzke and some good efforts from its bench players the Jackson County Central boys basketball team was able to stop its skid with a 106-91 victory over Windom in front of a large crowd at the JCC High School Gym.
The win moves the Huskies back over the .500 mark at 8-7 and a sweep of the regular-season series with the Eagles. Windom is 12-6.
The Eagles lead Class 2A in scoring, averaging 89.9 points per game. The lone team in the state that scores more is Class 4A Park Center, which is averaging 92.4 points.
But JCC set one school record and was close to another.
Rogotzke scored a school single-game record of 48 points, of which 31 came in the second half when the Huskies put up 56 as a team. Rudy Voss held the previous record of 43 points in a 95-58 loss at Marshall on Jan. 14, 2020.
The 106 points was one shy of the team school record set on Feb. 15, 2020 in a 119-107 loss at Caledonia.
“Other than a stretch to start the game and then the last three minutes of the first half I thought we played really, really well,” said Jackson County Central Coach Alex Hein. “It sounds weird because they scored a lot points but it really came down to defense. We made everything tough for them and got out in transition. What really showed tonight was our bench. We kept subbing to keep our guys fresh and everyone who went in did really well.”
The Eagles got out to an early 14-4 lead, but the Huskies bounced right back and took a 22-20 lead.
JCC went on a spurt that saw the Huskies assume a 45-32 lead, but Windom would answer ack and pull within two at halftime at 50-48. The Eagles took a 53-52 lead early in the second half, but JCC went on a 5-0 run and led the rest of the way.
“It was a total team effort. Travis played okay,” said Hein tongue-in-cheek. “It’s not often you get to see a school record. Unbelievable game by him. Hopefully it gets him going and he has a lot of games like this.”
In addition to his 48 points, Rogotzke totaled 12 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and three assists.
“It felt amazing,” Rogotzke said. “I did not expect that going into this game. Usually I’m just a role player kinda on the side. I was just of hitting every shot. It was amazing.”
Rogotzke was 11-for-17 on two-point field goals, 6-10 on three-pointers and 8-8 from the free-throw line. The senior knocked down some long distance treys and also took some lob passes inside on out-of-bounds plays.
“The kid (from Windom) looked like he knew what was going on but he just kind of let it happen anyway,” Travis said. “There’s been a few games I’ve been off. I was 0-for-four on threes last game. But tonight I just went crazy. “
Roman Voss had a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds for JCC. Erik Hesebeck netted 11 points.
Jackson County Central will host St. James Area Monday night.
JCC boys basketball schedule
Sat., Dec. 3: Blue Earth Area, L 65-63
Mon., Dec. 5: Martin County West, W 66-59
Thurs., Dec. 8: at Windom, W 99-91
Tues., Dec. 20: at Luverne, W 77-67
Thurs., Dec. 22: Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey, ppd.
Fri., Dec. 30: Canby at Marshall, W 76-51
Sat., Dec. 31: Montevideo at Marshall, W 69-60
Fri., Jan. 6: Redwood Valley, L 103-99
Sat., Jan. 7: Waseca, W 88-85
Fri., Jan. 13: at Fairmont, W 61-56
Sat., Jan. 14: Sergeant Bluff-Luton at Target Center, L 64-53
Tues., Jan. 17: Luverne, W 83-64
Fri., Jan. 20: at Pipestone, L 90-86
Tues., Jan. 24: at Blue Earth Area, L 71-60
Fri., Jan. 27: at Waseca, L 61-58
Tues., Jan. 31: at Worthington, L 90-57
Fri., Feb. 3: Windom, W 106-91
Mon., Feb. 6: St. James Area, 7:15 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 7: Fairmont, 7:15 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 10: at Marshall, 7:30 p.m.
Mon., Feb. 13: at Southwest Minnesota Christian, 7:15 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 14: at Redwood Valley, 7:15 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 16: Pipestone, 7:15 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 23: New Ulm, 7:15 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 24: Big South Conference championship
Sat., Feb. 25: Big South Conference Showcase, Waseca