Huskies fall, Panthers score big

Owatonna

The Owatonna Huskies suffered a 65-63 loss to the Mankato East Cougars at home last night in a clash between two Big Nine Conference title contenders.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, the two-point loss knocked the team out of the title hunt as the Cougars secured a two game lead with just one conference game left to play.

“If you would have told me before the year began that at this point in the season we would be playing for what we were tonight, I would have told you, ‘I expected it,’” said Owatonna head coach Josh Williams.

After keeping the score tight through the first half, Owatonna found itself in a 19-point hole halfway through the second before a game-altering run evaporated the Cougars’ lead to one point with just over a minute to play.

Owatonna had two opportunities to take the lead with possession inside of a minute, however, turnovers and a pair of fouls ended up giving Mankato East a four-point lead with eight seconds remaining.

The Huskies scored a basket with 0.2 seconds remaining to go down by two, but the Cougars inbounded the ball successfully to end the game.

Owatonna will face Red Wing at home next on Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.

NRHEG

The No. 3 NRHEG Panthers defended their home court in the quarterfinal round of the Section 2AA tournament tonight by putting a 75-47 beatdown on No. 6 Maple River.

NRHEG took control of the game early and did not miss a beat the entire 36 minutes, even after enduring its first losing streak of the season heading into tonight.

“The fact that our kids held their composure and came in ready to play tonight was huge. Even though it’s easy to get in your head after two losses, I was really excited with how strong we came out tonight,” said NRHEG head coach Onika Peterson.

After taking a 35-16 lead into halftime, the Panthers shut the door for a comeback by exploding for 40 points in the second half.

Senior Erin Jacobson led the team with 22 points in the game and provided a spark down the stretch by scoring 20 of her 22 points in the second half.

NRHEG will face No. 2 Waseca next in the semifinal round at Mankato East High School on Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.