Eagles take home balanced win over Tigers
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NEW ULM -- The New Ulm Eagles placed four players in double figures as they improved to 17-9 on the season with an impressive 87-78 over Belle Plaine Thursday night in a non-conference boys basketball game.
James Osborne led the Eagles with 27 points. Colton Benson added 25 with Will Fossen and Nate Firle each ending with 15.
Benson now needs 32 points for 2,000 career points.
Teddy Traxler led Belle Plaine (15-4) with 20 points.
"This was a nice win over a very good Belle Plaine team," New Ulm head coach Matt Dennis said. "They do a lot of nice things."
But it was what the Eagles did midway though the first half that turned the game for New Ulm.
Down 20-17 the Eagles, who play Friday night in Blue Earth, went on a 17-5 run to take a 34-25 lead.
3's from Benson and Osborne keyed the run that eventually turned into a 43-28 lead off of an Osborne jumper with under under a minute to go in the first half.
"We were trying to get to the middle and downhill," Dennis said. "We thought that we had more speed than they did -- we took advantage of that speed. We were able to capitalize on some fast-break points, attacking the rim and working together."
New Ulm also hit 9 of 19 from beyond the arc in the first half with Benson canning a 3 for a 46-32 lead just before halftime.
"It is a lot easier to play defense when the ball goes through the rim," Dennis said.
Osborne said the team's work in practice helped with the offensive output.
"We had a good start for sure," he said. "And we have been practicing 3's a lot in game scenarios."
New Ulm kept up the pressure in the second half increasing their lead to 54-41 on a Fossen 3-pointer and then 58-46 on a Benson bucket.
A Fossen 3, one of four by Fossen in the game, made it a 66-49 contest before an Osborne 3-pointer gave New Ulm a 76-56 lead with just under six minutes to go in the game.
Osborne said that while it was a good team win, the team still has areas it can improve.
"We had a lot of turnovers, so it was one of our top wins but definitely not number one," he said.
New Ulm now heads for Blue Earth Friday before they have two big sectional games next week, hosting Worthington on Monday before traveling to Hutchinson on Tuesday.
But the team is focused on the game in front of them.
"We are worried about Blue Earth right now. We went 1-0 tonight and we want to go 1-0 tomorrow -- we have the weekend and we will think about whatever comes after that," Dennis said.