Tyler Sorenson did the honors for the Panthers, totaling 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
“Tyler carried us on the offensive side for a good five-minute stretch in the first half,” said Churchill.
Other individual statistics: Sam Lundberg six points, seven rebounds, three assists; Carter Tollefson four points; Lucas Meyer eight points; Spencer Hanna eight points; Nic Mangskau five points; Spencer Tollefson three points.
The game against Minnesota Transition School was close. NRHEG trailed 22-17 at halftime.
To start the second half, the Wolves had back-to-back three-pointers to open an 11-point advantage.
“We are struggling to score points right now and that was just too big a margin to come back from,” said Churchill. “We got to the line but could not convert.”
The Panthers were 14-for-29 from the line and 12-for-28 from the field.
“We struggled shooting the ball,” said Churchill. “We battled hard the whole game but we never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.”
The Panthers bested JWP 17-8 on offensive rebounds.
“We played better and did some good things against their defense,” said Churchill. “We just couldn’t convert it into points.”
Individual scoring for NRHEG: Sorenson 15, Sam Lundberg 10, Carter Tollefson eight, Mangskau six, Hanna four, Meyer two.
The BA game was back and forth at the start. NRHEG went on a run to take an 18-12 lead with nine minutes in the first half, but the Cardinals answered with a 19-1 run and were in control the rest of the way.
At halftime, BA led 30-19.
“We emphasized taking care of the basketball and we did that tonight,” said Churchill. “Our possessions just need to be longer. BA ran good offense and made us play defense which caused us to get in foul trouble and let them get back in the game at the free-throw line. In the second half we had to try and play catch-up the last 10 minutes and we just couldn’t get the lead to a manageable number. We played hard and I believe we will be a good team. We just need to get better at some little things.”
NRHEG scoring: Carlson 13, Sorenson 10, Mangskau six, Lundberg three, Pete Blowers three, Hanna two, Carter Tollefson two, Spencer Tollefson two.
The Panthers, 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Gopher Conference, played Blooming Prairie Tuesday, Dec. 20. They’re at JWP for a conference game Thursday, Dec. 22. They play in the Bethany Lutheran tournament Dec. 27-29 in Mankato.
