“That was the key to the game to me,” said Churchill. “We had a chance to bust it open. We took quick shots when they went zone instead of getting the good inside looks that we got against their man to man. It was a wasted opportunity for us, but it is something we've talked about all year and we haven't corrected yet.”
The second half was back and forth with each team holding leads. JWP took a four-point edge with 2:30 remaining.
Sam Lundberg made two free throws to tie the game with 20 seconds left.
JWP’s Tyler Cowdin hit the winning three from the corner with eight seconds left, his only basket of the game.
Individually for NRHEG: Tyler Sorenson 19 points, six rebounds; Matt Carlson 19 points; Lundberg eight points, six rebounds, five assists; Spencer Hanna six points; Nic Mangskau six points; Lucas Meyer two points, seven rebounds, five assists; Carter Tollefson two points.
Josh Stockman led JWP with 32 points.
NRHEG won the B-squad game, 56-52.
The Panthers played well at Blooming Prairie, leading 28-20 at halftime. Hanna hit back-to-back threes in the second half to push the lead to 12 and he took a charge the following possession.
“He played one of his best games of the season,” said Churchill, whose team was never threatened after that.
“We played a solid game tonight,” said Churchill. “Playing with the lead is a much different feeling then being down by five or six. I thought only giving up 20 points in the first half was huge for us tonight. We did an excellent job rebounding and limiting them to one shot. It felt nice to get on the right side of one of those close games. We have come up short so many times. It was a big relief to get this win.”
Individually: Carlson 24 points; Sorenson 11 points, eight rebounds; Hanna nine points, six rebounds; Lundberg seven points, eight rebounds; Lucas Meyer six points.
The Panthers play Thursday, Feb. 9 at Gopher Conference leader WEM. They’re at Medford on Valentine’s Day and host Randolph Feb. 17.