To say the Maple River Eagles have been a thorn in the side of the NRHEG boys’ basketball team in recent years is a bit of an understatement.
Last week, the Panthers exacted some revenge on the Eagles’ court, pulling away for a 77-63 triumph at Mapleton Tuesday, Dec. 5.
“Both teams are replacing a lot of players from last year, and I feel both teams are going to keep getting better as the year goes on,” said Churchill.
Lundberg had a big night with 35 points.
“He played huge again for us with 18 in the first half and 17 in the second half,” said Churchill. “He and Brady Agrimson are our two most experienced players and we are going to lean on them to start the year.”
Agrimson was next for NRHEG with 13 points, followed by Jerret Utpadel six, Devin Buendorf six, Peyton Castle six, Jacob Schuller five, Nathaniel Techau four and Perry Peterson two.
Maple River led much of the first half but NRHEG kept it close. The Eagles were up seven with about four minutes left when the Panthers went on an 11-2 run and took a 29-27 halftime lead.
“That was huge for our young guys to make a run at them and take a lead; it really helped build our confidence going into the second half,” said Churchill.
The Panthers continued to expand the lead in the second half, going up by eight with eight minutes left. Free throws at the finish added to the final margin.
“I felt our young guys took a nice step forward tonight,” said Churchill. “We improved from our first game and beat a nice team tonight.”
The Panthers improved to 2-0 overall, 1-0 in the Gopher Conference.
Ethan Sindelir scored 29 and Mason Sohre had 18 for the Eagles.
The NRHEG junior varsity won 45-38.