Panthers open with three victories
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys’ basketball team is doing its best to make last year’s 6-19 season a distant memory.
Coach Pat Churchill’s crew got its season underway last week with three straight wins.
The Panthers overwhelmed Cleveland at home Tuesday.
NRHEG traveled to the Mankato Loyola Tourney Friday and Saturday, knocking off the host school and St. Peter to bring home the championship.
ClevelandNEW RICHLAND – NRHEG controlled the game from start to finish, romping to a 72-28 victory in New Richland Dec. 3.
The Panthers jumped out to a quick 10-point lead as Spencer Tollefson opened the game on fire.
Cleveland battled back within a point midway through the opening half, but the Panthers dominated the rest of the half to take a 40-20 lead at the break. Tollefson had 16 first-half points for NRHEG.
“We were getting the ball inside, and being aggressive on the offensive end, which leads to good things,” said Churchill. “We were happy with our defense as we held them to 26 percent shooting for the night.”
The defense got even better in the second half as NRHEG finished with a 32-8 advantage.
Tollefson and the rest of the starters sat out much of the second half due to the big lead.
Tollefson paced the Panther scoring with 23 points.
Trevor Tracy and Kevin Kalis also reached double digits with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Tracy knocked down three triples.
Oakley Baker added seven points, one more than Macoy Schwierjohan.
Tollefson, Baker and Kalis all hauled down eight rebounds. Schwierjohan nabbed six rebounds and Tracy came up with three steals. Nine players reached the scoring column for NRHEG.
Mankato Loyola
MANKATO – NRHEG broke a halftime deadlock to win 70-65 in the opening round of the Loyola Tourney Friday.
The Panthers were sharp at the start, jumping to a 19-7 lead.
Loyola slapped a press on NRHEG, forcing 11 first-half turnovers and gaining a 26-26 deadlock at the intermission.
The Crusaders opened up a 10-point advantage with 11 minutes remaining. NRHEG gained control and took an eight-point lead with three minutes to go, and protected that margin.
The Panthers showed a great one-two punch with Kalis and Tollefson. Kalis powered in 30 points and Tollefson was right behind with 25.
Tracy chipped in eight points, including two big buckets when NRHEG trailed in the second half.
Reilly Knutson topped Loyola with 19 points.
“Ryan (Patraw) came in and did a great defensive job,” said Churchill. “This was a great win for us over a pretty good team.”
St. Peter
MANKATO – NRHEG overcame a slow start to capture Saturday’s championship with a 70-56 triumph.
St. Peter jumped out to a 22-12 lead, before a 12-2 spurt by the Panthers knotted the score at 24.
NRHEG left the floor holding a 34-32 lead at the intermission.
SP battled the Panthers even until nine minutes remained. NRHEG stretched the lead to 10 points and held it the rest of the way.
“St. Peter has a lot of size and strength so we knew we would have to alternate between man defense and zone and concentrate on protecting the paint,” said Churchill. “They had trouble getting the ball inside in the second half and didn’t shoot well from the outside.”
Tollefson reached the 20-point mark for the third straight game, leading the Panthers with 22 points. Tracy flipped in 17 points. Kalis scored 11 and Baker added 10.
Tollefson had a double-double with 10 rebounds, and also came up with four steals.
“This was a nice step up four us as a team. It shows the hard work is paying off,” said Churchill. “But, we know our league is good and we have a lot of work left to do.”
NRHEG opens Gopher Conference play when Faribault BA comes to town Friday.
The Panthers travel to United South Central Tuesday.
NRHEG 72, Cleveland 28
Cleveland 20 8 28
NRHEG 40 32 72
NRHEG (72): Tollefson 23, Tracy 14, Kalis 10, Baker 7, Schwierjohan 6, Cole 5, Krell 4, Patraw 2, Mrotz 2.
Cleveland (28): Phillips 7, Lynch 7, Kopet 6, Archer 3, Germsheid 2, Piotter 2, Davies 1.
NRHEG 70, Loyola 65
NRHEG 26 44 70
Loyola 26 39 65
NRHEG (70): Kalis 30, Tollefson 25, Tracy 8, Baker 5, Patraw 2.
Mankato Loyola (65): Knutson 19, Seifert 17, Rajtar 12, Van Biarcom 7, Fink 6, Baxter 4.
NRHEG 70, St. Peter 56
NRHEG 34 36 70
St. Peter 32 24 56
NRHEG (70): Tollefson 22, Tracy 17, Kalis 11, Baker 10, Agrimson 4, Patraw 3, Krell 2, Cole 1.
St. Peter (56): Steidler 19, Johnson 9, Bartlett 8, Erickson 8, Reese 5, Abdi 4, Rosburg 3.
NEXT: Friday – Faribault BA at NRHEG, 7:15 p.m.