The Eagles went up by as much as 9 points in the second half, but a late surge by the Tigers gave them a double-digit lead late, which they held onto for the win.

“I think it was a good matchup,” New Ulm head coach Michael Poncelet said. “Right now we just don’t have the mindset to be able to finish it off. We dug ourselves a big hole because we were playing soft, and then we turned it around. We caught back up, we took the halftime lead. We extended the lead in the second half, and then a few things go wrong for us on offense and all of a sudden we’re not playing defense again.

“They [Belle Plaine] absolutely have the ability to make shots from anywhere on the floor, so when we take a possession off on defense, they score. We take a bad shot, and they’re going to score if we’re not defending. They’re a solid team, and to beat them, we have to be solid too.”

Mitchell Hopp led the Eagles with 26 points, while Owen Castleman had 15 points. Noah Mertz added 12 points for New Ulm.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Noah Mertz takes a layup during a Big South Conference boys basketball game against Belle Plaine Tuesday at New Ulm High School.

Belle Plaine was led by the duo of Chaz Iovino and Ethan Martin. Iovino hit nine 3-pointers on his way to 32 points, while Martin scored 26 points, mostly in the paint.

Belle Plaine started the game with a 12-2 lead after a pair of 3s by Logan Anderson, but New Ulm fought back with a layup from Mitchell Hopp and a 3-pointer from Levi Hopp. A putback from Mertz cut the score to 19-13, but Iovino caught fire from 3, hitting three shots from range to extend the lead to 32-22. Mitchell Hopp responded with a scoring barrage of his own, making three layups and a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 37-35. A layup by Mertz tied the game, then a mid-range shot by Mitchell Hopp gave New Ulm a 39-37 lead. Belle Plaine made three free throws to take the lead once more, but Lendale Dunmars got out on a fast break for New Ulm and Mitchell Hopp was able to tip in the putback as the buzzer sounded to give the Eagles a 41-40 halftime lead.

Castleman added to that lead with a driving layup to start the second half, then Levi Hopp took a steal to the cup for a 45-42 lead. Joey Wise made a 3-pointer for the Eagles, then Mitchell Hopp made another to push the lead to 51-44. Noah Mertz finished off the 12-6 start to the half with a pair of layups for a 55-46 lead.

“I think it starts from our defense,” Poncelet said. “We’re challenging those 3-point shots so they’re not making them, just easy, catch-and-shoot, in-rhythm 3s that they were getting later in the half. We’re getting out there, ball pressure, creating deflections, getting out in transition so we’re getting easy buckets and we don’t have to work as hard. When they’re making shots and they’re getting back on defense, now we have to work for it, and it’s a snowball that builds on itself.”

However, Iovino got going again with a 3-pointer as the Tigers began to push back.

Another 3 by Iovino made it a 57-56 game, then Martin converted an and-one to give the Tigers the lead once more. A 3 from Caden Koepp ensured that Belle Plaine never gave it up again as the Tigers finished out a 12-0 run for a 66-57 lead. Zach Hubbard made a 3 for New Ulm to cut the lead to 66-60, but Belle Plaine scored 6 straight for a 71-60 lead. Hubbard made a layup to get the lead back into single digits and then hit another to cut the lead to 75-68, but Belle Paine made its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

New Ulm (1-3, 1-3) plays in the Kwik Trip Bethany Lutheran College Christmas Tournament starting on Friday, Dec. 26.