Zimmerman too much for NRHEG

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

MANKATO -- The challenge was issued at halftime by Nicollet coach Ryan Hulke to his players. And, like usual, it was Jeff Zimmerman who took it upon himself to make sure that challenge was met.

Zimmerman had a quiet first half by his standards, scoring just three points in the first half. So Hulke told him to start putting the ball up more in the second half if the Raiders were going to hang on to their 10 point lead over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

Zimmerman hit three shots from behind the arc in the third quarter and one more in the fourth, torching the Panther defense for 19 second-half points. The Raiders won the quarterfinal game over previously unbeaten NRHEG 58-47 in the Pepsi Holiday Basketball Tournament at Bethany Lutheran College.

"Ryan told me at halftime that I had to come out and start shooting more, and we need to get more points on the board if we want to win," Zimmerman said.

The Raiders will play Minnesota Valley Lutheran at 6:30 p.m. today in the north gym. Zimmerman said it was important for the Raiders not to overlook the Panthers.

"This is a huge win," Zimmerman said. "Some people maybe were looking to the second round, but New Richland's a good team. We came in and played hard and came out on top."

Both teams struggled from the field in the first quarter, and it showed as the Raiders led 8-5 after one quarter.

"Everybody's a little slow from Christmas," Zimmerman said. "But we got going in the second half, and just went from there."

Zimmerman's three in the second quarter put the Raiders up 11-5, and later he hustled to pick up a loose ball and found Andy Emich, who buried a short jumper to give Raiders a 15-7 lead, forcing NRHEG coach Matt Eppen to call a timeout.

Nicollet led 21-14 at halftime, and Mike Rosin hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter to spot Nicollet a 26-14 lead.

Zimmerman then got hot from outside and his trey made it 32-14, and later another three-pointer put Nicollet up 37-19.

But the Panthers wouldn't go away, and three-pointers by Matt Harrington and Brian Warnke cut the deficit to 37-25. The Raiders led 39-29 after three quarters.

The Panthers cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter thanks to a full-court press that led to some careless turnovers, but Nicollet hung on for the win.

Zimmerman finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Rosin scored 16 points and Mike Nourie scored eight points and had eight rebounds.

Warnke led the Panthers with 18 points and Harrington scored 10. After the game, Zimmerman said the Raiders were hoping to match up with MVL again after the Chargers defeated the Raiders at Nicollet in the season-opener.

"We're hoping MVL comes out on top," Zimmerman said. "They beat us the first game of the year and their our big rivals, so we're looking forward to playing them if they come out on top."

Jeremy Behnke can be reached at jbehnke@nujournal.com

MVL 72, St. Peter 38

MANKATO -- The Minnesota Valley Lutheran boys basketball team crushed St. Peter 72-38 in the Pepsi Holiday basketball tournament Tuesday.

St. Peter trailed by only 12 points at halftime, but the Chargers stormed out in the second half, outscoring the Saints 23-6 in the third to take a commanding 29 point lead.

David Nass scored 14 points and had nine rebounds for MVL, while Ryan Sander added 10 points and Greg Holzhueter dished out nine assists with nine points.

Erik Minter led St. Peter with 10 points.

The Chargers face Nicollet at 6:30 p.m. today.

Loyola 45, LCWM 40

MANKATO -- Mankato Loyola edged out Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 45-40 in the Pepsi Holiday tournament.

Jon Miller and Paul Barnett each scored 13 points for Crusaders.

Jesse Van Sickle poured in 23 points for LCWM in the losing effort.

Loyola plays Maple River today while LCWM faces Cathedral.