Owatonna, Blooming Prairie Sweep Games

Owatonna's basketball teams swept Faribault Tuesday night. Blooming Prairie basketball scored wins over Southland in big section match-ups with Southland. Medford had a milestone performance in their game.

The OHS boys had four players reach double figures in their 75-51 win at Nomeland Gymnasium in Faribault. Evan Dushek scored 21. Brayden Williams added 17. Payton Beyer contributed 15 points with eight rebounds and nice defense to earn the TPS Insurance Player of the Game honor. Isaac Oppegard scored 12.

The Huskies forced about 15 turnovers while committing just five themselves. Owatonna's junior varsity won 58-32 and the b-squad topped the Falcons 68-17.

Owatonna (4-6) will host Winona (6-5) Friday, January 10 at 7:30 pm with action on AM 1390 KRFO and the free KRFO app.

In a bit of a surprise, Rochester Century topped Rochester Mayo 75-62, the Spartans first conference loss. The Panthers rallied from a five-point halftime deficit. Century coach Jacob Vetter told the Post Bulletin, "We've shown the conference that we're here. So everybody's going to have to bring their best against us."

The Spartans loss leaves Mankato East as the lone unbeaten in Big Nine games. Check the conference standings here.

The Huskies' girls snapped a seven-game skid with their 70-57 victory over the Falcons at OHS. Owatonna (3-7 overall) plays at Winona (1-12) Friday with coverage on Kat Kountry 105 and the free Kat Kountry 105 app.

Austin beat Red Wing Tuesday 42-34 in a battle of top five ranked Class AAA teams. The Packers have a half-game lead atop the league standings.

The Blooming Prairie boys hoops team improved to 6-0 overall with a 72-63 win at Southland. Coach Nate Piller says, "We survived a tough one tonight. Very physical contest with Southland shooting the ball extremely well. We were a little short-handed due to injury...We struggled shooting in all aspects...We've got to right this quickly as we go to Grand Meadow Thursday and host WEM Friday in big section and conference action respectively."

Four players reached double figures for the Blossoms: Gabe Hagen 22, Kaden Thomas 19, Parker Vaith 12, and Zach Weber 10.

The BP girls won their fifth straight 55-30 over Southland in a game featuring the top two teams in Section 1A. Coach John Bruns said, "In our first home game since December 5, the Blooming Prairie girls built a halftime advantage behind great defense and rebounding, holding Southland to eight first-half points...In the second half we were able to maintain and even build on the lead at times."

Megan Oswald scored 17 points. Bobbie Bruns had 15. Julia Worke had six points and eight rebounds. Allison Krohnberg scored four points and grabbed seven boards.

Blooming Prairie (9-1 overall) hosts Lyle-Pacelli Thursday.

Medford's Kiley Nihart reached 1,000 career points with a three-point shot late in the Tigers' 60-36 win over Maple River Tuesday. Medford (10-1) faces Waseca in a huge Gopher Conference and Section 2AA game Saturday, January 11 at the Kasson-Mantorville Showcase. Game time is 11:45 am.