Comeback falls short in sections

The first free throw bounced off the rim. The second did the same, falling into the welcome hands of Panthers' Macoy Schwierjohnann. He turned, sprinting down the court. The Panthers were down by one. There were seven seconds left - no timeouts. Schwierjohnann passed the half court line, crossed over left and drove through the lane. Fans held their breath as he leapt for the basket, but the ball was knocked out, sailing out of bounds. Eagles ball.
Senior Spencer Tollefson could only stand next to a referee, making sure the right call had been made. There was no reversal. The scoreboard read Eagles 64 - Panthers 63. The Panthers season was over.
The game began a defensive battle, with Maple River only entering halftime with a 21-17 lead. Both teams scored over forty point in the second half.
"The first half was a defensive war between two really good teams," said New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Coach Pat Churchill. "I felt our defense and their defense were outstanding to start the game."
Down four at the half, the Panthers surged into the second with a 6-0 run to go up by two, only to have the Eagles answer with a 10-0 run of their own. The Panthers would never lead again. With their lead rising into the double digits several times, it seemed as though the Eagles would soar past the Panthers.
The nearly improbable comeback was led by Tollefson, who hit several clutch three-pointers late in the game, some while heavily guarded.
The Panthers had been trailing by ten with three minutes left before some key takeaways and clutch shooting. It just wasn't enough to regain the lead.
"Our kids just never gave up and they were going to go down swinging," said Churchill.
Tollefson and Oakley Baker each ended the night with 19 points, Tollefson grabbing nine rebounds and Baker pulling down eight. Schwierjohan had nine points, with six rebounds and six assists. Trevor Tracy made seven points. John Cole scored five, and Tyler Raimann and Kevin Kalis added two.
Jonah Breiter and Grant Sonnek pulled most of the weight for the Eagles, scoring 31 and 17, respectively.
The two teams had faced each other twice in the regular season, the Panthers losing by four at home and nine in Maple River. The Panthers finished the season 23-4, the only home loss coming against Maple River.
"I am so proud of my team," said Churchill. "They fought all year long and worked tremendously hard.  When you have a team go 23-5 its tough to see them go."
Churchill will have to watch eight seniors graduate from his team, including 1,000 point scorer Spencer Tollefson, Trevor Tracy, Macoy Schwierjohann, Kevin Kalis, Brady Beenken, Kelson Titus, Andy Shutrop and Colton Hagen.
"I am really going to miss that crew," said Churchill. "They were tremendous basketball players, leaders and people."