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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
The NRHEG High School boys' basketball team was not due for a win.
It was overdue.
The Panthers, who last tasted victory Dec. 18 at Rochester STEM Academy, hosted a winless Medford crew Monday night and snapped an 11-game losing skid 62-40 in New Richland.
"Medford is playing a limited schedule due to age and numbers this season, so we were fortunate to be able to keep one of our games with them on the schedule," said NRHEG coach Dan Schmidt.
It was also good timing for the Panthers, who were absent two starters.
"It was a good game to get some of the guys extended minutes, as well as a little rest leading in to two more games this week," said Schmidt.
Hudson Chrz led the Panthers in scoring with 13 points. Jackson Chrz kicked in 11 in limited minutes.
"Jackson did a good job of exerting his will when he was in there," said Schmidt.
Greyson Schaefer had a great game with seven points and 11 rebounds. Jared Lee and Ricky Zapata added six apiece. Sam Olson kicked in five points, Jordan Brouwers and Brendan Schmidt four each. Levin Kitzer, Brooks Gilliland, and Jase Knudson each scored two. Knudson added seven rebounds.
"This was a total team effort, and we felt going into it that it would be an opportunity for a lot of guys to get to play, while resting our normal starters," said Schmidt. "Games like this can be tough to keep up the intensity, but I feel we did a good job maintaining that."
A Panthers rally fell short 59-51 at Bethlehem Academy last Friday.
"This game started out very ugly for us defensively," said Schmidt, whose team trailed 28-9 at halftime as the Cardinals' Hudson Dillon scored 20 first-half points.
"We shot poorly in that first half, as well, missing a number of open layups and three-pointers," said Schmidt.
The second half started much better for the Panthers as they started hitting some shots.
"Unfortunately, BA matched us," said Schmidt.
The result was a 26-point lead for BA. With about 10 minutes remaining, NRHEG started to make a move, going on a 32-16 run to finish up the game. They pulled within six points a couple times, but had to foul towards the end sending BA to the line to knock down some free throws.
"We played really hard in the second half to battle back and make it a ballgame," said Schmidt. "We just put ourselves in too big of a hole in the first half."
Daxter Lee led all scorers with 30, including 26 in the second half. Jackson Chrz added 11 second-half points. Schaefer had five points, Olson three, Knudson had two.
The Panthers lost 70-60 to Maple River Jan. 23.
Jackson Chrz had 19 points and six rebounds, Will Tuttle 12 points and six rebounds, Daxter Lee nine points and five assists. Jordan Brouwers scored six, Kitzer four, Olson three, Schaefer three, Hudson Chrz two, Jared Lee two.
The Panthers 3-14 overall and 0-4 in the Gopher Conference West, played Tuesday at Waseca, host USC Friday, travel to Hayfield Monday and to WEM Tuesday, Feb. 6. The USC game is also the Panthers' Senior Night.
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
Any time you start a wrestling dual meet trailing 36-0 after six matches, it's awfully tough to win.
That was the situation for the NRHEG Panthers last Thursday as they hosted Westfield.
While the Panthers wrestled well in the middle weights, a miraculous comeback was not in the cards as the visitors prevailed 48-30 in New Richland.
"The timing of this dual was tough for both teams," said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. "I do not believe that either team was at full strength, and that could make things definitely different. They have a good team and they came over with a lot of intensity, and deserved the win."
The Razorbacks pinned Charlie Tufte at 107 pounds and Dakota Schlaak at 114. The Panthers forfeited at 121 and 127 and, after a loss by fall for Parker Bunn at 133, NRHEG forfeited again at 139.
That's when the Panthers made it interesting - for a while anyway.
Deven Parpart scored a 42-second fall at 145, Reese Routh got a first-period fall at 152, Harbor Cromwell got a forfeit at 160, and Ryan Schlaak and George Roesler took first-period pins at 172 and 189, respectively, pulling the Panthers within 36-30.
The Razorbacks responded by pinning Cole Hutchens at 215 and Jace Ihrke at 285.
"We wrestled a decent match, although it will be better for us if we can get everyone competing at the same time," said Larson. "It is hard to win when there are so many forfeits."
The Panthers are home again Thursday, Feb. 1 with a triangular against WEM/JWP and St. Clair/Mankato Loyola. Wrestling starts at 5 p.m.
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By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
Coach Onika Peterson wasn't kidding when she said the NRHEG High School girls' basketball team was in for a tough stretch of games.
It finally ended last Friday when the Panthers defeated Bethlehem Academy on Senior Night in New Richland.
The rest of the week didn't go as well.
The previous Monday, the Panthers fell 65-55 at home to Tri-City United. They trailed 37-27 at halftime, and at one juncture rallied within one point.
"We put ourselves in a hole that we had to crawl out of," said Peterson. "We cut their lead to one, but never could get over the hump. I’m proud of this team’s second-half fight. We're looking to bounce back against a Gopher Conference foe tomorrow. It’ll be nice to have two days of practice after that. Having three games in a row vs. a couple really tough teams gets long."