It was just the second game of the season for the Bucs, who got a late start because of their extended football season in winning the AAA championship.
“We knew we would have to switch defenses tonight because of their size,” said Churchill. “Our zone defense kept us in it for a while, but we really struggled to get good looks offensively.”
Blue Earth led 29-18 at halftime. Monson and Plocker both scored nine points in the opening half.
The Bucs went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and let Monson carry them the rest of the way. Monson, a junior, exploded for 23 second-half points.
“He had a tremendous night, but we did not do a very good job of meeting him at the free-throw line and making contact with him,” said Churchill. “We let him get to the block and get the ball where he wanted to.”
Monson poured in 23 second-half points to finish with 32 in the game. He even stepped outside and knocked down a pair of triples late in the contest.
Plocker finished with 11 points, and Brandyn Olsen added 10.
Sophomores Trevor Tracy and Spencer Tollefson led the Panthers with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Tracy drilled three triples and Tollefson was 4-4 from the foul line.
Nic Mangskau and Kevin Kalis added six points apiece.
Tollefson grabbed seven rebounds for the Panthers, while Macoy Schwierjohan handed out three assists.
NRHEG won the junior varsity contest 54-48.
JWP
NEW RICHLAND – Some great outside shooting by Tracy and a solid all-around performance by Tollefson keyed NRHEG’s first win of the year.
The Panthers scored the first 15 points of the game and went on to defeat JWP 60-49 in New Richland Friday.
JWP fell to 1-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall.
The Panthers improved to 1-1 in the Gopher and 1-4 for the season.
NRHEG’s great start was sparked by Tracy. He hit his first four three-pointers and finished with five triples in the half.
Tollefson chipped in with nine first-half points and the Panthers left the court holding a 33-12 lead over a stunned JWP crew. Rick Johnson of JWP hit a three-pointer at the buzzer or the Panther defense would have held the Bulldogs in single digits.
“We got after it and played with a chip on our shoulder defensively,” said Churchill. “We got pushed around against Blue Earth and knew we had to pick it up defensively.”
JWP junior Sawyer Gahler sparked a second-half rally for the Dawgs in which they outscored NRHEG 37-27, but the lead never got under double digits. The Panthers made only 5-13 free throws the second half, which allowed JWP to hang around.
Tracy had a career-high 19 points, including his five three-pointers.
Tollefson worked hard for his 12 points, and Kalis chipped in with a 10-point night. Mangskau chipped in with eight.
Gahler was the lone Bulldog in double digits. He scored 11 points in the second half and finished with 15.
The top two scorers for JWP, sophomores Johnson and Kyle Fisel, were held to eight points apiece.
Tollefson had a fantastic all-around game. He yanked down 11 rebounds and handed out seven assists.
NRHEG turned the ball over 25 times, but was able to overcome the mistakes against the Bulldog pressure.
“This was a nice team victory and I’m happy for the kids,” said Churchill. “We know we have to play like this on defense every night if we want to get better.”
JWP picked up a victory in the junior varsity game, 50-46.
The Panthers will play tonight, Friday and Saturday at the Mankato Bethany Holiday Tournament. The Panthers will tangle with Fairmont in a 6:30 p.m. tip-off in the opening round.
Medford comes to town for a Gopher Conference clash Jan. 4.
Blue Earth 67, NRHEG 44
BE 29 38 67
NRHEG 18 26 44
NRHEG (44): Tracy 13, Tollefson 11, Mangskau 6, Kalis 6, Schendel 3, Schwierjohan 2, Peterson 2, White 1. FG: 11 2-pters., 4 3-pters., FT: 10-15 (67%), PF: 20 (Kalis out), TP: 44.
NRHEG 60, JWP 49
JWP 12 37 49
NRHEG 33 27 60
NRHEG (60): Tracy 19, Tollefson 12, Kalis 10, Mangskau 8, Goette 4, Schwierjohan 2, Peterson 2, Krell 2, Mrotz 1. FG: 17 2-pters., 6 3-pters., FT: 8-20 (40%), PF: 12, TP: 60.
NEXT: Thursday – NRHEG vs. Fairmont at Mankato Bethany Holiday Tourney, 6:30 p.m.
