NRHEG 61, FBA 49

The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys&8217; basketball team disposed of Faribault Bethlehem Academy Thursday night in New Richland, 61-49.

&8220;It was back and forth there for a while in the second half,&8221; said Panthers head coach Matt Eppen. &8220;FBA is a very good team but we were able to hold on down the stretch and pull away at the end.&8221;

NRHEG did commit three more turnovers than FBA but beat them on the boards 31-23 while holding onto a 28-23 lead at the half.

A big part of the Panthers run in the second half was Brad Kruckeberg who exploded for 14 points on his way to a game high of 19. Kruckeberg also grabbed five boards and dished out seven assists. Justin Stieglbauer had the touch from beyond the arc for the Panthers hitting three

3-pointers and finishing with nine points.

With the win the Panthers improve to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in the Gopher Conference as they prepare to travel to Hayfield on Saturday for a non-conference match-up.

USC 71, J-W-P 55

The United South Central girls&8217; basketball team picked up its second win of the season with a dominating 71-55 Gopher Conference victory over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.

Lindsey Dahl and Sam Sonnek led the Rebels with 12 points apiece while Jordan Anderson added 11. Lauren Schuster had a team-high 11 rebounds.

Waseca 54, Albert Lea 48

The Albert Lea boys&8217; basketball team continued its tough start to the season falling to Waseca in a battle between one-win teams, 54-48.

The Tigers trailed by just two at halftime, but Waseca hit 9 of 12 free throws down the stretch to cement the win.

Albert Lea had 20 turnovers in the game but did force 29 Blue Jay turnovers as well.

A.J. Kortz led the way for the Tigers with 15 points while R.J. Polley added 14.

The Tigers (1-8) are back in action tonight when they get back into Big Nine play with a road test at Winona.

Albert Lea 4, New Ulm 1

The Albert Lea girls&8217; hockey team bounced back from one of its more disappointing losses of the season with an impressive 4-1 victory over New Ulm Thursday at City Arena.

After a scoreless first period, the Tigers would score three unanswered.

Brittany Osmundson started the scoring with a goal early in the third coming off an assist from Amy Gackstetter.

That goal was followed by a Jenna Christensen power play tally with assists going to Madi Passingham and Sarah Jensen.

Sophia Jepson made it 3-0 in the third with a goal assisted by Jensen.

New Ulm would finally get on the board midway through the third, but goalie Kelli Hanson was up to the task all night stopping 36 of 37 shots.

Lauren Klick would add an empty net goal in the final minute to reach the final score.

Faribault 4, Albert Lea 3

Penalties have been a problem for the Albert Lea boys&8217; hockey team all season and Thursday it cost it a chance for a Big Nine win over Faribault.

Eight third-period penalties kept the Tigers from getting much going offensively until it was too late, falling to the Falcons 4-3.

&8220;We have been telling these guys since summer league that they have to keep the penalties down, and if they don&8217;t get it into their heads soon we are just wasting our time,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Roy Nystrom said.

The Falcons had a 2-1 lead after the first period dominating the shots 17-7. Albert Lea&8217;s lone goal came from Jared Bowman on a power play score off an assist from Adam Royce.

Faribualt would score the only goal in the second and tack one on in the third.

The Tigers would score two goals late in the third and had a chance to tie it up but could not cash in.

Evan Hegwood and Dustin Arendt had Albert Lea&8217;s other two goals.

The score could have been worse for the Tigers but Faribault was unable to capitalize on several 5-on-3 chances in the game.

The Tigers are now 3-4 in the Big Nine Conference. Albert Lea is back in action Tuesday when they host Austin in another conference showdown.