BELLE PLAINE – The Lester Prairie boys basketball team are the new kids on the block when it comes to the Minnesota River Conference. In their first season in the conference, the Bulldogs had a chance to secure the conference title outright with a win over Belle Plaine. The Tigers had other plans.
Belle Plaine used a big second half to keep their conference title hopes alive as they rallied for a 65-55 win on their home floor Thursday night.
“We had our moments for sure,” Lester Prairie coach Andrew Dahl said. “We looked pretty good. Then there were some stretches where we didn’t play very good defense and gave up some looks inside. After that, we struggled to find good shots.”
The matchup between the Bulldogs and Tigers was one filled with runs. After Lester Prairie took the early lead, it was Belle Plaine who answered with a 13-2 run to take a six-point lead. The Bulldogs would answer with a 15-0 run of their own sparked by 3-pointers from Connor Radtke and Kaden Otto. The Tigers would have the answer once again using a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to just one, but Lester Prairie would score the final seven points of the first half to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
With all the momentum on the side of the Bulldogs, it was Belle Plaine who came out swinging in the second half. A 7-0 run for the Tigers tied the game and gave them all the momentum. The Tigers would add onto their run, outscoring Lester Prairie 20-6 to open the half and grab a 48-41 lead. Lester Prairie would battle to get back within five but that’s as close as they would get as the Tigers held on for the big win.
“When things are going well, we’re a pretty good team,” Dahl said. “We just have to find a way to handle adversity and keep our heads up. Hopefully, we can learn from tonight and bounce back.”
With the loss, Lester Prairie falls into a tie with Belle Plaine in the conference standings with just one game left for each team. Mayer Lutheran also sits just one game behind the Tigers and Bulldogs with two games to play.
While the loss was a tough one for the Bulldogs, they did get two key players back. Jack Behning returned from injury after missing one game and led all scorers with 24 points. Lester Prairie also got LaDamien Gatlin-Coellner back in the lineup after missing some time as well.
“LaDamien is an energy spark plug for us,” Dahl said. “It’s always nice to have him on the court making plays and flying around like he does.”
Lester Prairie closes out the regular season with a home game against Tri-City United and a road game with Cleveland.
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Follow Kip Kovar on Twitter: @Kovar_HJSports