NOTE: With the state boys basketball tournament underway, it seemed like a good time to send this out again.
Minnesota's 110th season of high school boys basketball is in its final week with the state tournament taking place.
In the first state tournament in 1913, Fosston edging Mountain Lake 29-27 in the championship game.
There was a one-class state tournament every year through 1970. Sherburn won the final one-class tournament in 1970, beating South St. Paul 78-62 in the championship game.
High school basketball used a two-class format from 1971-75, with a playoff between the Class AA and Class A champions held from 1971-75.
After using a 'Sweet 16' in 1995 and 1996, a four-class format was adopted in 1997 and has been in place ever since.
After more than a century of play, the highest-scoring championship game in state tournament history is the 2016 Class 2A final between JCC and Braham. The Bombers beat the Huskies 96-90 at Target Center on March 12 of that year.
"Braham was way good," said Trent Sukalski, who coached the Huskies from 2006 until 2017.
"They (Braham) came out lights out. We were hanging in there, but at halftime it was 50-29. We hadn't been down 21 points all year. It didn't look good."
Sukalski said he was always the positive guy around the team, but admitted even he had tempered his expectations for the second half.
"I said, guys let's just finish this thing out strong," Sukalski said. "And then Matt Ringkob said, 'Suk, we still think we can win this game. So then I said, well all right then let's go."
JCC then scored 61 points in the second half against a team that entered the state tourney allowing 46 points per game.
The Huskies got as close as five points at 80-75 with 3:23 remaining and almost made it a one-possession game a little later. Bodey Behrends took a lob pass from Ringkob to score, but Ringkob would be called for a charging foul after making the pass to negate the basket.
That would be as close as JCC would get as the Bombers made some free throws down the stretch to win by six.
Ringkob and Colton Timmer scored 21 points apiece for the Huskies. Behrends had a double-double and narrowly missed a triple-double as he recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks. Jacob Christopher scored 16 points and Ryan Christopher 11.
Jacob Christopher, Behrends and Ringkob were all named to the all-tournament team.
"What a lot of fun," Sukalski said. "I've had an opportunity to win some state championships as a baseball player, as an assistant girls basketball coach at Marshall with Terry Culhane and made some state tournament trips on Tom Schuller's football staff at JCC. There's nothing like a state tournament and then being in a state championship game and I've had the pleasure to do it as a player and a coach. It's always special and that was a special game."
In fact, the entire 2015-16 season was a special one for Jackson County Central that was the culmination of a remarkable journey.
"It was (then JCC activities director) Larry Traetow who contacted me about taking over the basketball program," recalled Sukalski. "That's why I came to Jackson."
Sukalski said the move was met with skepticism among his coaching peers.
"I remember (former Marshall and current Orono coach) Barry Wohler saying to me, 'Suk, are you crazy? That's a basketball graveyard. I said, we'll change that."
JCC hadn't won a conference game the three previous seasons, going 0-12 in each. Overall, the Huskies were 10-51 in those campaigns.
"It took a lot of time and it took a lot of people," Sukalski said. "We built the program from the ground up. We made it fun. We played an exciting brand of basketball.
"We kept building. We won 10 games, 12 games and kept going. My last two seasons we won 25 and 26 games, went to back-to-back state tournaments and a state championship game and were playing on TV. All of a sudden, our youth level was just exploding with kids and it was awesome. I look back at my 11 years as the head coach and am very proud. A lot of great memories and great people that helped build that program."
One person Sukalski pointed out among the many who meant a lot to the program was Charlie Clarksean, who was with him as a volunteer assistant for all 11 years.
"He was with me the whole time. Charlie was tremendous. He helped me every step of the way with Saturday or Sunday morning basketball clinics and camps. We made a lot of scouting road trips. We'd go from practice to go scout somebody, watch film on weeknights and all days Sunday."