Slow start for NRHEG boys

A very slow start plagued the NRHEG basketball boys, and Hayfield took advantage to forge a 76-45 victory over the Panthers Friday, Dec. 6. The loss pushed NRHEG to an 0-3 record for the season.
“We didn’t start out very well in this game,” commented Coach Isaiah Lundberg. “Hayfield started 9-0 and upped that lead to 19-3 midway through the first half. The Vikings were up 39-22 at the break.”
The Panthers cut the lead to 54-40 in the second half, but several turnovers stopped any comeback, and poor shooting also hurt. Hayfield got offensive rebounds and putbacks to keep the wide margin to close out the game.
Ethan Slaathaug scored 22 points to lead all scorers in the game, and Easton Fritcher added 14 points for Hayfield. Tory Christensen counted 18 for the Panthers, and Lonnie Wilson contributed 10.
Opening loss
The NRHEG boys stayed with Albert Lea through the first eight minutes, but the Panthers fell behind 18-9 and then went into a scoring drought for about five minutes. The Tigers used the drought to put distance between the two teams and eventually forge a 79-48 victory Dec. 4. The Tigers broke to a 41-25 halftime margin.
“Actually,” remarked Coach Isaiah Lundberg, “ I thought we played pretty well for our first game. We played hard with a lot of energy, but we had that one scoring lapse and never cut the margin under ten points again. They made shots where we couldn’t, making nine threes to our three. I thought a lot of good came out of the game, and it was good to play a team like Albert Lea.”
Dexter Lee and Lonnie Wilson both notched 12 points to lead the Panther scoring, and Kirdell Schlaak added 10. Javanus Mucha Owens led all scorers with 23 points for the Tigers. Connor Veldman contributed 12 points to the total.