NEW RICHLAND — New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva boys’ basketball lost to United South Central 55-42 on Friday in New Richland.

USC took the lead in the first half scoring 15-6. With less than seven minutes left, NRHEG played catch up and was able to close the gap 18-14.

With six minutes to go, Kyle Bauman found a seat on the sidelines because of foul trouble.

“That was when we needed to grind it out, get shots on the pavement, when the 6-foot 8-inch guy wasn’t there to block them,” said NRHEG coach Pat Churchill. “We just didn’t do that, we let them go on a little run and that really hurt us.”

USC gained 12 points on their run. The score was 28-16 at half.

Scorers for New Richland were Tyler Sorenson six, Matt Carlson five, Lucas Meyer two, Sam Lundberg two and Spencer Hanna one.

Scorers for United South Central were Chris Melby nine, Kyle Bauman six, Trey Allis six, Jason Huper four, Steve Voigt two and Walker Linde one.

During the second half, the game was at a stand still with neither team really scoring any points for the first four minutes.

NRHEG’s playing started looking up when Sam Lundberg and Nic Mangskau each made a 3-pointer. Even though USC was still leading, the Panthers’ attempt at a comeback brought the score within eight points of each other. The score was 35-27 with just under 11 minutes left to go.

USC didn’t let it get to them. With 4 1/2 minutes left in the game, they took a 17-point lead toward their win.

Churchill made sure not to let the loss get his team down because it was still improvement from their last game. Before shaking hands with the opponents, he praised them for their good effort.

“I was very happy with the outcome,” he said. “I was disappointed we lost, but our effort was outstanding. I told them to come out with some pride and play like they meant it. They did that tonight and I wanted them to know that.”

For the game, New Richland scorers were, Matt Carlson 10, Sam Lundberg eight with five rebounds, Tyler Sorenson 11 with seven rebounds and four assists, Nic Mangskau five, Carter Tollegson two and five rebounds, Lucas Meyer four and Spencer Hanna two.

NRHEG shot 40 percent from the field and 40 percent from the free throw line.

United South Central scorers for the game were, Kyle Bauman 17 and 10 rebounds, Chris Melby 10, Trey Allis 10, Cole Stencel seven, Jason Huper five, Steve Voigt four and Walker Linde two.

USC shot 41 percent from the field and 61 percent from the free throw line.