BLOOMINGTON &045; The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys’ basketball team reached the championship game of the Bethany Invitational with a 60-58 overtime victory over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Saturday.

&uot;Our kids showed a tremendous amount of heart,&uot; said Panthers coach Matt Eppen. &uot;We struggled offensively early in the game but our defense kept us in it.&uot;

Trailing by 10 points with five minutes left, the Panthers battled back to a 54-54 tie at the end of regulation. Jacey Reese, Zak Tracy and Matt Wenzel hit field goals in the extra session to provide the winning margin.

&uot;Many players stepped up their performance down the stretch,&uot; said Eppen.

The Panthers trailed 12-9 after one quarter, 26-24 at halftime and 42-36 at the end of the third quarter.

Reese scored a game-high 23 points, adding seven rebounds. Tracy had 13 points and three assists, Bjorn Peterson 12 points and eight rebounds, Tim Tappe eight points and three rebounds, Wenzel three assists and four rebounds.