The Lakeview Lakers sent the TMB boys to another loss Tuesday, but it wasn’t as easy as the first few minutes would indicate.
Despite starting the game on a 16-2 run, the Lakers had to hold on for dear life in the end, winning 72-69.
The loss was the Panthers’ sixth in a row; their longest losing streak a year ago was three games to end the 2024-25 season.
“The way we lost those games, we’ve played a real good stretch of basketball at times, we’ve just never done it for a whole game,” TMB coach Ryan Kruse said. “We’ve had two one-point losses, and this was a one-possession loss, so we’re right there. I feel like we can do it, but we’re running out of time.”
TMB got off to a very slow start Tuesday, a result of numerous turnovers and cold shooting. Lakeview’s perimeter defense prevented the Panthers from getting anything going early on, as TMB did score its second basket until the 10:48 mark of the half.
“I don’t think we were ready to play; we played our fourth game in five days and we just didn’t seem very interested in playing,” Kruse said. “Just a lot of mistakes. They beat us to every rebounds, every loose ball.”
Threes by Jackson Kruse and Connor Lanoue helped turn things around for the Panthers, and they trimmed a 14-point deficit to five with just over 6 minutes left on a Lanoue bucket.
The Panthers trailed by just seven despite their ineffectiveness from deep.
“I thought when we rebounded well, we were right there,” said Kruse. “Really after the first five minutes, I thought we played hard.”
TMB was able to creep up on the Lakers in the second half, as guard Griffin Zick heated up. The senior guard scored 13 consecutive points to pull his team to within one point at 47-46 with about 10 minutes remaining. He then scored his 16th point of the second half to give TMB a 48-47 lead.
Then it was Lanoue’s turn, as he, too, heated up. The senior shrugged off a rough first half by netting six straight, as TMB went up 54-51. Later, he had another four straight points to help TMB keep pace with a Lakeview team that eventually found its scoring touch.
Lakeview would go on a 5-0 run to lead 67-61, but Lanoue scored off a turnover and then drained a three with 2:15 to go to pull TMB to within a point. After a Lakeview three, Zick struck again from deep with 1:34 left, and it was a one-point game again. TMB had a chance to regain the lead after an Eli Lighfoot block, but the Panthers missed a pair of shots and were forced to foul with :34 left.
Down three with :15 to go, the Panthers were able to set things up for a game-tying three, but Lanoue’s attempt was partially blocked as the buzzer sounded.
“We just kind of dug ourselves a whole we never got out of,” said Kruse. “We did a good job battling back, but they made more plays down the stretch.”
Zick led the way for TMB with 26 points, and Lanoue had 20.
CARSON LANOUE attempts a jumper in the first half of Tuesday’s game against Lakeview.
Jackson Kruse pitched in with 16 points, and also had seven rebounds and four steals. Lanoue grabbed eight rebounds, and Zick had seven.
TMB was sharp from the charity stipe, hitting 13-of-15, but missed 21 out of its 27 three-point attempts.
• The B-squad team had a nice 49-31 win, with Parker Kline scoring 12 and Carson Lanoue 11. Nolan Carlson grabbed nine rebounds to go along with his eight points. Mhylez Moua and Tyson Petersen both scored six.
The Panthers (8-14 6-8 in the Camden) play in Canby on Friday and are back home against Adrian-Ellswoth on Monday in a game was orignally scheduled for Feb. 19.
Lakeview 36 36 — 72 TMB 29 40 — 69 Lakeview
Sorbo 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor 4-11 2-2 11, Breyfogle 6-18 6-10 19, Tusberg 5-10 0-0 10, Bigler 1-6 0-0 3, Varpness 1-4 2-2 5, Helmke 8-10 4-6 20, Staab 2-2 0-1 4. Totals: 27-66 14-21 72. Three-pointers: 4-21. Assists: 18, Rebounds: 42.
Steals: 9. Turnovers: 17. TMB
Sanderson 1-5 1-2 3, Zick 10-25 4-4 26, Carson Lanoue 0-2 0-0 0, Connor Lanoue 7-19 3-3 20, Xiong 1-5 0-0 2, Kruse 6-15 3-3 16, Kline 0-1 2-2 2, Lightfoot 0-1 0-1 0.
Totals: 25-73 13-15 87. Threepointers: 6-27 (Connor Lanoue 3-8, Zick 2-10, Kruse 1-6, Carson Lanoue 0-1, Xiong 0-2). Assists: 21 (ZIck 6, Connor Lanoue 5, Sanders 4, Lightfoot 3, Xiong 2, Carson Lanoue). Rebounds: 36 (Connor Lanoue 8, Kruse 7, Zick 7, Lightfoot 6, Sanders 4, Carson Lanoue 2, Xiong 2). Blocks: 2 (Lightfoot 2).
Steals: 12 (Zick 5, Kruse 4, Connor Lanoue 2, Sanders). Turnovers: 17.
FEB. 9: KMS 86, TMB 69
The KMS Saints turned things on in the second half to beat TMB 86-69 on Monday.
The Panthers led by two at the half, but the Saints outscored the Panthers 53-24 in the final 18 minutes for the lopsided victory, sending TMB to its fifth straight loss.
Griffin Zick was TMB’s leading scorer with a gamehigh 27 points. Connor Lanoue and Emery Xiong added 18 and 10 points, respectively.
TMB shot 47% from threepoint range, with Zick hitting on 5-of-11, and the Panthers out rebounded KMS 37-32, with Zick hauling in eight boards and Eli Lightfoot seven.
• The B-squad team lost 5340. Parker Kline had 13 points and Jackson Kruse scored 11 in the loss.
FEB. 7: MCC 62, TMB 42
A strong first half gave TMB hope against rival Murray County Central on Saturday, but it was the second half that allowed the Rebels to beat the Panthers again, 62-42, in Tracy.
A three at the halftime buzzer by Griffin Zick staked the Panthers to a 29-28 lead at the break, but from there, it was all MCC, which used balanced offense and a hardto- crack defense to outscore the Panthers by 21 in the final 18 minutes. TMB’s struggles from the field were reflected the scoreboard, as the Panthers put up only six points in the first 11:41 of the second half.
Zick’s three was his only basket of the game, as the Rebels stifled the Panthers’ leading scorer, who had his most considerable off-night of the season. Connor Lanoue picked up some slack with 16 points, including four firsthalf threes that helped TMB keep pace.
Eli Lightfoot added seven points and seven rebounds.
• The TMB B-squad lost 4938. Jackson Kruse led with 16 points, and Parker Kline scored nine, and had five assists and five steals.
FEB. 6: MINNEOTA 68, TMB 67 The Panther boys lost another one-point game, this time to Minneota, 68-67, last Friday in Minneota.
Griffin Zick led with 21 points, five assists and five rebounds; Emery Xiong had 13 points and three assists; and Connor Lanoue scored 12 points and had eight rebounds. Eli Lightfoot added seven points and five boards for TMB, which fell to Ortonville by a point back on Jan. 29.
• The TMB B-squad fell 62-28. Jackson Kruse led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds.
ELI LIGHTFOOT goes up high to beat a pair of MCC players to a rebound in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Rebels. Photo / Per Peterson
