Churchill’s Panthers appeared to be poised for an upset as they jumped to a 16-5 advantage at the start.
That apparently riled up FBA. The Cards outscored NRHEG 39-4 the rest of the half to leave the floor with an overwhelming 44-20 cushion.
“They absolutely owned us after our fast start,” said Churchill.
Coach Franz Boelter’s squad cranked up the defense in the second half, ending up with a 26-15 scoring advantage.
“Their defense smothered us,” said Churchill. “We could not do anything on the offensive end of the floor.”
NRHEG did not have a good shooting night, connecting on just 31 percent of its shots from the floor. The Panthers were 2-11 behind the arc and only 5-12 from the foul line.
FBA, which got off 17 more shots, hit 45 percent of its fielders. The Cardinals nailed 6-12 triples and 8-17 free throws.
Spencer Tollefson and Trevor Tracy paced the Panther attack, both reaching double digits. Tollefson scored a team high 13 points and Tracy chipped in with 10. Tracy also handed out three assists.
Kyle Filzen paced the winners with 15 points, Matt Mahowald tossed in 12 and Tim Angell added 11. Angell, Mitch Malecha and Matt Siegfried all passed out a couple assists.
Faribault won the rebounding battle by a 33 to 29 margin.
Mahowald snared seven rebounds for the Cards, with Filzen and Angell grabbing six apiece.
Tollefson and Nick Goette both pulled down six rebounds for the Panthers. Nic Mangskau snared five caroms and Macoy Schwierjohan grabbed four boards.
Filzen sparked the tough Faribault defense with four steals.
NRHEG turned the ball over 18 times, compared to just seven miscues for the Cards.
“FBA showed our guys what strength and experience can do for a team,” said Churchill. “We need to be able to rise up and meet a challenge physically.”
The Panthers return home with a conference game against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Friday. The Bulldogs are 3-2 this season.
NRHEG will play in the three-day Mankato Bethany Holiday Tournament Dec. 27-29. The Panthers will tangle with Fairmont in the opening round.
FBA 70, NRHEG 35
NRHEG 20 15 35
FBA 44 26 70
NRHEG (35): Tollefson 13, Tracy 10, Kalis 6, Schwierjohan 3, Mangskau 2, Goette 1, Peterson 0, Krell 0, White 0, Schendel 0, Hagen 0, Mrotz 0. FG: 14-45 (31%, 2-11 3-pters.), FT: 5-12 (41%), PF-13, TP-35.
NEXT: Friday – JWP at NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.
