“He is just a very nice player who creates space and can rise up and shoot it,” said Churchill, who knew at halftime a new strategy was necessary.
He decided to double-team Dufault, and it was effective. NRHEG whittled the lead, pulling within a point or two a number of times, but the Panthers fell short in the end.
“We wanted someone else to have to hit shots,” said Churchill.
The Panthers’ Oakley Baker led all scorers with 43 points, including seven threes, and added seven rebounds.
“He carried us offensively,” said Churchill. “He is a great scorer and he put on a clinic scoring tonight.”
Also for the Panthers: John Cole eight points, eight rebounds; Benji Lundberg eight points; Tyler Raimann five points; Chad Agrimson two points; Jack Schultz two points; Sam Prigge two points.
Dufault finished with 35. Jake Guse scored 15, Kaleb Nelson 12.
The Bluejays improved to 16-6.
Waseca handed the NRHEG junior varsity a rare loss, 58-43.
NRHEG 60, USC 49
The Panthers overcame a slow start, trailing the Rebels 7-2 early.
“We really came out with no energy,” said Churchill. “We looked like we were going through the motions.”
It took the Panthers until halftime to catch up, and they took a 30-29 edge into intermission.
The second half was close to start, but the Panthers took an eight-point lead with about nine minutes remaining and maintained the margin the rest of the way.
Baker had another big night, with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Cole had 12 points and nine rebounds, Agrimson nine points, Raimann eight points, Lundberg six points and Prigge one point.
Grant Becher led USC with 19 points.
The Rebels’ overall record fell to 12-12.
NRHEG’s junior varsity won 47-45.
The Panthers are seeded No. 3 in sub-section and will host No. 4 seed Fairmont Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. The winner plays Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:45 p.m. at Mankato East High School. The sub-section title game is Feb. 29.
