By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
Missing one third of their triple towers, the NRHEG basketball boys struggled early at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Friday, Jan. 8. They could not catch up, dropping a Gopher Conference contest 62-51.
The Panthers took nearly six minutes to score their first points of the game. Fortunately, WEM only scored six.
“It seemed we were a bit tentative offensively, dropped some passes, didn't finish,” said NRHEG coach Pat Churchill. “We rushed a little bit and really struggled early.”
Tough defense helped the Panthers keep it close, according to Churchill.
The Bucs pushed the lead to double digits with six minutes left in the first half and went into halftime with a 31-17 advantage.
The lead stayed around 10 points for most of the second half.
“I felt we played a little better in the second half, but we dug ourselves to big a hole to climb out of and had too many turnovers in the first half,” said Churchill.
The Panthers’ Oakley Baker led all scorers with 22 points. Also for NRHEG: Chad Agrimson 18, John Cole four, Luke Overgaard four, Jack Schultz two, Sam Prigge one.
Zac Olson led three Bucs in double figures with 21 points.
The loss dropped the Panthers to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
NRHEG’s junior varsity posted a 47-37 victory.
