Coach Isaiah Lundberg knew the NRHEG boys’ basketball team could take its lumps early in the season.
A couple of them came last week.
The Panthers fell to 0-5 with a pair of loses, 94-43 at WEM Dec. 10 and 75-26 at Blooming Prairie Dec. 13.
WEM 94, NRHEG 43
The Panthers jumped on top 4-0, but it was all downhill from there.
WEM’s press forced many turnovers, resulting in a 49-16 halftime score.
“When we did beat their press, we got good shots, but didn’t make many,” said NRHEG coach Isaiah Lundberg. “The game just kept snowballing in their favor and before we knew it we were down by 25 points.”
The game was not without its lessons, however.
“I told the guys that this is what their pressure does to you,” said Lundberg. “It will speed you up and make you play faster than you want to. I give WEM a lot of credit. They’re a good team with good players who play well together.”
T
he Panthers had one scorer reach double figures, Lonnie Wilson with 11 points. Kordell Schlaak and Ashton Johnson scored eight apiece.
WEM, 2-0 in the conference and 5-0 overall, was led by Grant McBroom with 17 and Zach Stricken 15.
Blooming Prairie 75, NRHEG 26
The Panthers started slow, trailing 8-0 early. They regrouped a bit and cut it to 10-5, but turnovers and poor shooting led to a 42-10 halftime lead for the home team.
“Blooming does a great job in their press and zones, trapping you, and we didn’t handle that pressure very well in the first half, which led to easy lay-ups for them.”
The Panthers did not play poorly in their half-court defense, according to Lundberg.
“Most of their points came on transition lay-ups because of our turnovers or missed shots,” he said. “Right now, we are having a hard time getting rebounds consistently. When we do force a missed shot, turnovers keep us from being as productive on the offensive end as we could be.”
Wilson led the Panthers with eight points. Daxter Lee scored six.
It was the season opener for the Blossoms, coming off a state championship in football.