Panthers win in overtime at Triton
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
In the last couple years, the Maple River Eagles have been a tough crew to beat for the NRHEG boys’ basketball team.
The trend continued last week.
The Panthers hosted the Gopher Conference leaders and defending section champs and kept it close for a half before falling 59-42 at New Richland Tuesday, Jan. 26. They bounced back for a pair of wins Thursday and Friday, improving to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in the Gopher Conference.
Maple River 59, NRHEG 42
The Eagles dominated early, building a 14-0 lead before the Panthers got on the scoreboard. NRHEG battled back to take a 23-21 lead at halftime, but the Eagles opened it up in the second half to run their record to 18-2.
“We settled for too many quick jumpers early and they executed in the half court and hit a few threes to jump on us early,” said Panthers coach Josh Churchill.Tough team defense and three-pointers by Oakley Baker and Benji Lundberg brought the Panthers back, but it took a lot out of them.
“To go into the half up two, our kids exerted a lot of energy and played their best defense of the year for about a eight-minute stretch,” said Churchill.
The second half started like the first, with Maple River going on a run to retake a lead they would not relinquish.
“They are a very good ball club and you have to play very well to beat them,” said Churchill. “We didn't hit enough shots tonight and we had a stretch of turnovers that really hurt us. Oakley had another big night.”
Baker finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Other scorers: Lundberg eight, Chad Agrimson six, Luke Overgaard four, John Cole three, Sam Prigge two, Dempsey Tucker two, Tyler Schlaak two, Jason Jongbloedt two.
Jeff Lewis led the Eagles with 16.
The NRHEG junior varsity lost 40-38.
NRHEG 77, Triton 75, OT
The Panthers returned from Dodge Center Thursday with a narrow victory.
Again, it was a slow start for NRHEG, which quickly trailed 10-0 and played from behind almost the entire game. They cut it to 37-29 at halftime. Triton was up 11 with 3:43 remaining, but the Panthers clawed back and took a one-point lead with 20 seconds on the clock. The Cobras made one of two free throws down the stretch to send it to overtime, where Baker hit a three and got fouled on another three, Lundberg made two baskets and Cole hit a free throw as the Panthers scored the first eight points. They held on with free throws.
Individually: Baker 22 points, Cole 22, Lundberg 17, Agrimson eight, Prigge eight.
Isaiah Wannarka scored 20 and Garrett Dahms 19 for Triton, which fell to 8-12.
The NRHEG JV won 51-35.
NRHEG 68, Medford 45
The Panthers kept Medford winless in the Gopher Conference as the Tigers toppled to 2-16 overall.
NRHEG took control early with good inside play against the zone.
“Cole did a good job seal for position and we got him the ball,” said Churchill. “I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half.”
NRHEG led by 22 at the intermission. The second half saw the lead extend to 30 before Medford cut the lead late.
Cole and Baker led the panthers with 21 and 17 points, respectively, but the Panthers were able to get 10 guys in the scoring column. Also: Lundberg eight, Jongbloedt five, Agrimson four, Prigge four, Tucker three, Overgaard two, Cole Ignaszewski two, Nic Schultz two.
Wyatt Volkmann paced Medford with 12.
The Panther JV lost 56-52.