It has been a magical season for the NRHEG boys’ basketball team.

As the Panthers’ regular season winds down, they only seem to be gaining more steam after they suffered two losses in January.

NRHEG took a big step forward when it faced and dominated Maple River, 72-43, on Monday night.

The Panthers built a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back.

“We came out defensively and played very well,” Panthers coach Pat Churchill said. “We made everything they want to do a little bit tougher and we made their shots a little bit tougher and that really jump-started us.”

NRHEG got 21 points from Benji Lundberg, 15 of which came in the first half, and 13 and 11 points from Tyler Raimann and Oakley Baker, respectively.

The Panthers held their opponent to 29 percent shooting from the field.

“I was really proud of our defensive effort,” Churchill said.

The victory moves NRHEG to 22-2 on the season.

It will travel to play Blue Earth tonight.