Camerer leads Panthers to win on Owatonna

NEW RICHLAND — The Maple River Eagles did a good job stopping every NRHEG boys basketball player, except one. And that one carried the Panthers to victory.

NRHEG senior Cory Camerer scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. His turnaround jumper with 15.8 seconds left gave the Panthers a one-point lead. NRHEG would hold on and win its season opener 56-54 Friday night in a nonconference basketball game at NRHEG High School.

The Panthers led throughout the first 30 minutes of the game. NRHEG led 7-0 and then 12-4 after new point guard Spencer Busho hit a 3-pointer. The Panthers led 29-19 at half behind 12 points and 11 rebounds from Camerer.

“I just want to do what I can for the team,” Camerer said. “Scoring is nice. They had some smaller guys in the paint, so we went after them right away.”

Maple River rallied in the second half. The Eagles took a 41-40 lead when Jordan Drager hit a runner in the paint. The game went back and forth until a layup by Maple River’s Alex Maslokow gave the Eagles what looked like a comfortable 53-50 lead with 1:05 left.

Camerer missed a 3-pointer from the left wing, but NRHEG senior Tyler Firme snared an offensive rebound and drew a foul. Firme, who had a frustrating night from the field, made both free throws to pull the Panthers within one.

NRHEG guard Brett Hagen got the Panthers the ball back by forcing a jump ball, setting up Camerer’s heroics.

Camerer got the ball 10 feet from the basket on the left baseline. He turned and faded right in front of the Panthers’ student section. The ball hit nothing but net, and the NRHEG crowd jumped to its feet as Camerer pumped his fist.

“He’s a great shooter for a big guy,” said NRHEG coach Brian Riley. “At 6-foot-7, he can shoot over a lot of people. He made a great shot.”

Camerer was the only Panther in double figures. The rest of NRHEG’s starting lineup scored only 22 points. Riley knows most nights Camerer won’t go for 27. He also believes other people will pick up the scoring when Camerer is off a little.

“We know that anytime we go out there, anyone of our guys can carry us,” Riley said. “It might be a different guy carrying us during our next game.”

The win put NRHEG (0-0 Gopher, 1-0 overall) over the .500 mark for the first time since March 14, 2008. The Panthers started last year with three straight losses.

“It’s a great feeling (to get the win),” Camerer said. “Last year we struggled, we struggled at the start. We played great tonight. Hopefully we can play like this every night.”

The Panthers will next play Triton on Tuesday. The Cobras have ended the Panthers’ season the past two seasons.

“It would be great to get back at them,” Camerer said.

NRHEG stats: Cory Camerer 27, (17 rebounds), Brett Hagen 6 (5 assists , 2 steals, 2 rebounds), Spencer Busho 6 (6 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds); Hunter Eustice 6 (2 rebounds, 2 assists); Tyler Firme 4 (2 rebounds, 4 assists), Evan Ferber 5 (5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists); Trevor Spooner 2 (2 rebounds, steal). 3-pointers: Eustice 2; Busho; Hagen. Halftime score: NRHEG 29-19.

Girls Basketball
Winona Cotter 81,
NRHEG 53
WINONA — The Panthers’ season-opening winning streak ended 18 games earlier than last season.

Alyssa Hagen scored 14 points and Alyssa Kerkhoff added 13 in the Panthers’ first loss of the season. NRHEG won 20 straight to open last season.

Cotter’s full-court press kept Kerkhoff in check and the Panthers didn’t have many answers. The Ramblers led 37-26 at halftime.

Carlie Wagner added 13 points for NRHEG (1-1), which plays again at home at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Randolph.

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