BLUE EARTH — The Blue Earth Area Bucs squeezed by the New Ulm Eagles 61-57 in a Big South Conference boys basketball matchup Thursday night in Blue Earth.

Sophomore forward Cameron Anderson topped Blue Earth Area’s winning performance by scoring a game-high 20 points, while pulling down five rebounds.

Carter Bell contributed 14 points to the Bucs’ effort, while Austin Thielfoldt scored 11 points and Grant Strukel supplied 10 points.

After battling the Eagles to a 28-all score at halftime, the Bucs utilized a 33-29 second-half offensive effort to net the league triumph.

Reece Melby led the Eagles’ offensive effort with 19 points, while teammate Caden Hames chipped in nine points.

Blue Earth Area (3-0) squares off against Pipestone Area at 3 p.m. Saturday in a Big South Conference Showcase game in Marshall.

New Ulm 28-29–57

BE Area 28-33–61

Estherville-Lincoln Central 67, North Union 22 — The Midgets held the Warriors scoreless in the fourth quarter during nonconference basketball action Thursday night in Armstrong.

Elliott Hagebock led the Warriors with eight points, while teammate Braden Pierce had seven points.

Hagebock also led the team with five rebounds and four blocks.

North Union (0-3) travels to Britt, Iowa, tonight to face West Hancock in a 7:30 p.m. game.

Jackson County Central 77, Truman/Martin Luther/GHEC 50 — The Huskies defeated the Jaguars in a non conference boys basketball game Thursday night in Truman.

No individual or team stats were reported.

Truman/Martin Luther/ Granada-Huntley-East Chain (2-1) travels to Wells to play United South Central at 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

Girls Basketball

Waseca 71, Fairmont 39 — Forward Madison Gehloff poured in a game-best 21 points to power the Class AAA No. 7-ranked Bluejays to a 32-point triumph over the Cardinals on Thursday night in Waseca.

Point guard Gus Boyer contributed 14 points toward Waseca’s Big South Conference victory.

Lexi Lunn tallied 10 points to pace Fairmont, Taylor Crissinger generated seven points and pulled down a team-best five rebounds, while Cadence Becker scored seven points and grabbed three boards.

Madysen Allen distributed a team-best five assists for the Cardinals, which made 15 of 41 field goals overall, including 3 of 10 behind the 3-point arc.

Fairmont (1-3) faces Luverne at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in a Big South Conference Showcase game in St. James, while Waseca (5-0) battles Worthington at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in another showcase clash in St. James.

Fairmont 15-24–39

Waseca 38-33–71

Waseca downed Fairmont in B-squad action, 47-32, Thursday night.

Natalie Tonne scored nine points to top the Cardinals, Cadence Becker netted seven points, while Brittney Mosloski chipped in five points.

Waseca edged Fairmont in overtime, 47-44, during C-squad action Thursday night in Waseca.

Claire Nemmers produced 11 points and four steals to top the Cardinals, Emily Frank scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds, while Carissa Saxton scored four points and pulled down nine rebounds.

Cassidy Schultz and Sami Lenort each generated seven points for Fairmont, while Lauren Davis added five points.

New Ulm 72, Blue Earth Area 38 — Minnesota State University, Mankato commit Joey Batt erupted for a game-leading 29 points to steer the Eagles to a 33-point Big South Conference win over the Bucs on Thursday night in New Ulm.

Iyanna Wieland supplied 19 points for New Ulm, while Hannah Osborne contributed 10 points.

Caitlin Rorman poured in a team-leading 24 points to pace Blue Earth Area, while teammate Hannah Johnson netted nine points.

Blue Earth Area (1-2) squares off against Redwood Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday in a Big South Showcase game in St. James, while New Ulm (3-1) plays Marshall at 10 a.m. in the same event at the same locale.

BE Area 11-27–38

New Ulm 36-36–72

Jackson County Central 61, Martin County West 60 — The Huskies held off the Mavericks in a nonconference girls basketball clash Thursday night in Trimont.

MCW scored the final 10 points of the game, but couldn’t complete the comeback as its final shot didn’t fall as time expired.

Alyssa Williamson led the Maverick offense with 26 points on the strength of three 3s and 45 percent shooting.

Sami Meyer also scored in double digits, reaching 14 points for MCW.

Karlee Thiesse led the Mavericks with eight rebounds and both Cheyenne Owens and Meyer pulled down seven boards. Meyer also produced three steals.

Martin County West (1-2) plays again against Glencoe-Silver Lake in Trimont at 7:15 p.m. tonight.

Estherville-Lincoln Central 61, North Union 41 — The Midgettes beat the Warriors by 20 points in a nonconference girls basketball matchup Thursday night in Armstrong.

Chloe Lofstrom led the Warriors with 15 points and her three rebounds tied her for second behind Hope Steinberger’s five.

Rory McClellan joined Lofstrom in double digits with 12 points, while Maddie Rolling had eight points.

North Union (3-1) travels to Britt, Iowa, tonight to face West Hancock.