By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys’ basketball team lost to two of the upper division teams in the Gopher Conference last week, making it nine losses in their last 10 games.
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown and Blooming Prairie both defeated the Panthers for the second time this season.
The Bucs, who are tied with United South Central for the top spot in the conference, rolled to a 23-point victory in Waterville Feb. 12.
Blooming Prairie, currently third in the Gopher, posted a 17-point win in Blooming Prairie Friday.
NRHEG dropped to 3-10 (7th) in the conference and 5-17 for the year. The Panthers are 2-12 on the road this season.
WEM
WATERVILLE – Conference co-leader WEM outscored NRHEG 35-23 in the second half to capture a 76-53 victory in Waterville Tuesday. The Bucs won the earlier meeting 59-46.
The Buccaneers climbed to 9-2 in league play and 15-6 overall.Sean Klugherz, who was averaging less than five points per game, hit four triples and scored 16 points to spark WEM to a 41-30 halftime lead.
Tucker Kinniry chipped in with 10 points and Nick Kaplan added nine for the Bucs.
NRHEG eighth-grader Oakley Baker came off the bench to score 10 points in the first half for the Panthers, two more than Spencer Tollefson.
WEM drilled three more treys in the second half as it outscored the Panthers by 12 points.
NRHEG pulled within 45-38 with about 12 minutes remaining, but the Bucs went on a 31-15 scoring binge the remainder of the game.
“WEM shot the ball well tonight and their defense is so tough,” said NRHEG coach Pat Churchill. “Their defense made things difficult for us and sealed the game for them.
Klugherz pumped in a season-high 21 points to top WEM’s scoring. He had five three-pointers in the game.
Nick Kaplan flipped in 15 points and Kinniry finished with 12. Kaplan was 5-6 from the foul line.
WEM made nine threes and canned 15-18 free throws.
Tollefson paced the NRHEG attack with 15 points, Baker tossed in 10 and Trevor Tracy scored nine. Tracy nailed three triples.
The Panthers hit four shots behind the arc and 15 of 22 free throws.
THE NRHEG junior varsity suffered its fifth loss of the year, losing to WEM 51-37.
Blooming Prairie
BLOOMING PRAIRIE – John Rumpza and Michael Thomas provided a tough duo to stop for the second time this season. The BP duo combined for 44 points to lead the Blossoms to a 66-49 victory over NRHEG in Blooming Prairie Friday. The Blossoms won the first meeting 68-50.
Blooming Prairie improved to 9-3 (3rd) in the conference and 14-8 overall.
“I thought we played one of our better games tonight, but we just did not shoot well,” said Churchill. “BP has some athletic kids and plays good defense, but the ball would just not go down for us.”
NRHEG started out by taking a 13-7 lead. But, the Blossom offense kicked it in gear and outscored the Panthers 28-8 the rest of the way to take a 35-21 advantage at the break.
The Blossoms stretched the lead to 19 points in the second half before NRHEG made a run. The Panthers cut the deficit to seven points and had three shots to get closer, but could not convert.
Rumpza and Thomas, who combined for 49 points in the first game, led the Blossoms again. Rumpza pumped in 25 points and Thomas finished with 19.
Kevin Kalis worked the paint for 16 to top NRHEG’s scoring. Baker added 13, but no other Panther scored more than six.
Tollefson, the team’s leading scorer, was held to four points.
The NRHEG junior varsity fell to 16-6, falling to Blooming Prairie 39-37.
NRHEG faces league-leading USC at home Friday, trying to reverse an earlier 74-51 loss.
The Panthers close their regular season at TC United (Montgomery) next Thursday.
WEM 76, NRHEG 53
NRHEG 30 23 53
WEM 41 35 76
NRHEG (53): Tollefson 15, Baker 10, Tracy 9, Mangskau 5, Schwierjohann 4, Krell 3, Titus 3, Kalis 2, White 2.
Blooming Pr. 66, NRHEG 49
NRHEG 21 28 49
BP 35 31 66
NRHEG (49): Kalis 16, Baker 13, Schwierjohan 6, Tracy 5, Tollefson 4, Mangskau 4, Krell 1.
NEXT: Friday – USC at NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.