SPLITTING DEFENDERS — Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/ Martin Luther’s Jakob Fischer slices between Nicollet defenders Grant Bruns (left) and Keegan Hulke for a basket during their Section 2A, South Sub-Section play-in game on Friday night in Northrop. (Photo by Greg Abel)

NORTHROP — Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther had four players score in double figures to help the lead the No. 7-seeded Jaguars past the No. 10-seeded Nicollet Raiders 67-42 in a Section 2A, South Sub-Section play-in game on Friday night.

Jakob Fischer had a team-high 17 points, while Carter Fox was right behind him with 16 points, Jackson Madsen had 12 and Peyton Franzen had 10 to lead the Jaguars to the victory.

The Jaguars (14-12) advance to face No. 2-seeded Loyola Catholic (20-5) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a sub-section quarterfinal game in Mankato.

“We took care of the basketball and took it to the basket aggressively tonight,” said Jaguars head coach Brian Borkenhagen, whose team committed only 10 turnovers on the game.

The Jaguars jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the first half and a Franzen 3-pointer from the left corner made it a 19-9 game with 9:06 left in the opening half.

Fischer added a driving basket and another Franzen triple helped the Jaguars open a 35-18 halftime lead.

“We played excellent defense, especially in the first half when we gave up only 18 points,” Borkenhagen said. “We rebounded very well and made them take difficult shots.”

Each time a Raider would drive the lane, the Jaguars would collapse three or four players around him, forcing a tough shot.

The Jaguars’ offense stalled in the first six minutes of the second half, allowing the Raiders to the cut its deficit to 39-31 with 11:44 left. Back-to-back layups by Jeffrey Volby cut the deficit to eight points, forcing a Jaguars’ timeout.

“We were a little stagnant on offense and they (Nicollet) got back in the game,” Borkenhagen said. “We didn’t do anything on offense and had only four points to that point. We played better after that timeout.”

Fischer and Fox were instrumental in getting the Jaguars back on track. Each hit a couple of baskets, including Fischer’s dunk.

The Jaguars widened the lead to double digits at 47-33 and never looked back. Defensively, they cracked down on the Raiders’ shots, limiting them to only one shot at the basket on a lot of trips down the court after the timeout.

Fischer finished with six steals, while Madsen posted a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds to go with the 12 points. He also added seven assists.

Franzen and eighth-grader Bryce Borkenhagen each finished with eight rebounds.

Bryce Borkenhagen had four points, while Kayden Loeschen and Carter Brudelie, along with Wyatt Luhmann and Braeden Shell each scored two points to round out the Jaguars’ scoring.

“My seniors are good leaders,” Borkenhagen said. “They help keep everyone on the same page.”

Conner Martens and Grant Bruns were Nicolett’s top scorers with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

The Jaguars made 10 of 17 foul shots, while the Raiders made only 8 of 14 at the free throw line.

The Jaguars won the first two regular-season meetings with Valley Conference opponent Nicollet — 70-62 on Dec. 19 on the road and 63-45 at home on Jan. 24.