Story courtesy of Fairmont Sentinel

FAIRMONT — “You flirt with that enough, it’s going to bite you,” Fairmont Cardinals boys head basketball coach Jared Thompson said.

His Cardinals team was able to cut a 15-point deficit into six at halftime then beat New Ulm, 66-57, in overtime nearly two weeks ago, but couldn’t get it done again on Thursday night. The Eagles capitalized on the Cardinals’ slow start for a 49-43 Big South Conference win over the Cardinals in Fairmont.

“I never felt like we ever really got into a groove. We thought we played harder, but it felt like we were fighting uphill all night for some reason,” Thompson said. “It was just like our feet were in quicksand.”

The Eagles struck quick and early, getting out to a 21-3 lead during the first eight minutes of the frame. Senior forward Connor Foley contributed six points and an assist on sophomore forward Reece Melby’s 3-pointer to get the Eagles team going.

The Cardinals struggled shooting, going 7-for-26 from the field in the half, and were held scoreless until senior guard Nate Kallenbach’s trey with 14:25 to go in the opening.

“When you’re not shooting well, it does affect other parts of your game just naturally,” Thompson said. “You try to tell them that it shouldn’t. You have all those talks and they know, but it’s kind of natural for poor shooting to impact other things. It really never got better.”

Much like on Dec. 22 in New Ulm, the Cardinals began its comeback during the late stages of the half with Kallenbach found senior forward Derek Missling cutting to the basket for two of his team-high 12 points.

Cardinals senior guards Brady Allen and Sam Schwieger combined to go 3-for-4 at the free throw line to half the team’s deficit, 28-14. Allen then connected with Schwieger on a 3 before Allen hit a trey in transition.

Missling’s putback in the final minutes put the Cardinals within six as the Eagles took a 28-22 lead into the lockerroom.

“I don’t know why we’re getting off to slow starts so much lately. We weren’t earlier in the year. Over our last four or five games, we have,” Thompson said.

The Eagles’ first-half lead proved key as both teams scored 21 points in the final frame.

With 12:31 left in the game, junior forward Nick Eversman breezed by Eagles defenders for a quick layup to get the Cardinals within three for a 33-30 score.

Senior guard Matt Janke’s finger roll and Melby’s two free throws, however, allowed the Eagles more breathing room.

The Cardinals tried to slow down the clock by sending the Eagles to the line, but couldn’t pull of the comeback for a second time.

Foley added on eight rebounds and two blocks to his 12-point performance, and Melby neared a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Janke and Braden Zimmerman combined equally for 10 rebounds with Zimmerman adding on 10 points.

Missling crashed the boards for 10 rebounds in addition to his 12 points for a double-double. Schwieger and Allen both totaled 11 points with six and five rebounds, respectively.

Fairmont (8-3) plays Martin County West at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Trimont.

NEW ULM (49)

Connor Foley 6-10 0-0 12, Reece Melby 3-6 4-7 11, Braden Zimmerman 3-6 4-7 10, Matt Janke 2-5 2-6 6, Jaden Domeier 2-4 0-0 4, Noah Hauge 1-4 0-0 3, Andrew Peters 1-4 1-2 3, Caden Hames 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 18-41 11-23 49.

FAIRMONT (43)

Derek Missling 5-10 2-4 12, Sam Schwieger 4-15 1-2 11, Brady Allen 4-11 2-2 11, Nate Kallenbach 2-6 2-2 7, Nick Eversman 1-2 0-0 2, Wyatt Quiring 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Denney 0-4 0-0 0, Dustin Schultz 0-2 0-0 0, Garrett Myren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-52 7-10 43.