By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
The NRHEG High School boys' basketball lost decidedly in Wells Friday night, falling to United South Central 64-37.
The contest started poorly for the Panthers who failed to score until five minutes into the contest when Daxter Lee connected on a jumper. They did not score again until Sam Olson connected on a layup with five minutes remaining in the first half. The basket cut the deficit to 20-4.
Jackson Chrz managed to pick up six points for the Panthers over the final minutes, but the Panthers still trailed 32-16 at the break.
The second half saw much of the same as the Rebels stingy defense continued to smother the Panthers.
"The two-day weather break was not kind to us, as we came out flat and never recovered," said NRHEG coach Dan Schmidt. "It took nearly 10 minutes before we got our sec- ond basket of the game. It felt like we were never stepped in the gym, as we let USC's defensive pressure affect us."
Unpressured turnovers were also a problem for the Panthers, accord- ing to Schmidt.
Lee led the Panthers with 11 points, followed by 7 from Sawyer Prigge. Chrz totaled 6 points and 4 rebounds, Lukas Loverink four points. Olson, Brady Schlaak, Jaylin Raab, Levin Kitzer and Dylan Ingvaldson contributed two points apiece. Schlaak snared 4 rebounds.
USC's Zale Bushlack led all scor- ers with 19 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Nick Bushlack with 16 points.
The Panthers fell 54-51 on their home court in New Richland Saturday night against St. Clair, a rematch from the Bethany tournament.
NRHEG bolted to a 21-11 advantage, but St. Clair ended the first half on a 13-0 run and led 24-21 at halftime.
"During that stretch, St Clair's shooters took advantage of our inability to close out on defense, and with some quick rushed shots within our offense," said Schmidt.
The second half turned into a slugfest as neither team really built much of a cushion, and NRHEG once again had an opportunity for a game-tying shot with less than 8 seconds to go. That look came up just short, and St Clair hit a couple free throws to end the game.
"A game like this is actually a good experience for our team, hav- ing come into the season with so much inexperience," said Schmidt. "We've had three games that have come down to us getting the last shot, and while we've come up short, it's something to learn from for not only the team, but our coach- ing staff. And, two of those have been in the last week. I'm extremely happy with the effort that we played with on Saturday, especially coming off of Friday night's game. The boys bounced back so well, effort-wise."
Individually for the Panthers: Lee 18 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds; Olson 9 points; Chrz 5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks; Will Tuttle 5 points, 8 rebounds; Alden Dobberstein 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks; Prigge 3 points; Raab 2 points; Loverink 2 points; Jase Knudson 2 points.
Ethan Preston of St Clair led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Brandon Meng with 14.
The Panthers, 3-13 in the Gopher Conference and 3-22 overall, are off until the section tournament that starts Tuesday, March 7.