Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Blake Sexton (11) dives for the ball next to Maple River’s Tyler Heins during the first half of Friday night’s South Central Conference boys basketball game at MVL High School.

NEW ULM — The Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chargers did well limiting the Maple River Eagles’ 6-foot-7 senior forward Wyatt Birr in the post in Friday night’s South Central Conference boys basketball game.

The problem with that came in the second half when the Eagles took advantage of the 3-point line, led by sophomore sharpshooter Cole Davis.

With eight 3-pointers made in the second half and 10 total in the game, Davis led the Eagles past the Chargers 82-52 at Storm Fieldhouse.

Birr finished with 10 points as MVL’s 6-4 forward Luke Merseth held his own defensively on the low block, but Davis’ 3-point party helped him finish with 34 points.

“We did not score on our end so we could not put the pressure on them we wanted, the pressure that worked on them in the first half,” MVL head coach Craig Morgan said. “Our defense on [Davis], all the sudden we were looking to help inside, but you look to help inside with the big guy, but you have to also close out on your guy quicker and see that that ball gets reversed. We just didn’t capitalize on moving faster. We needed to move faster and recognize where [Davis] was. There were two guys that we had to worry about and he was one. He was quiet the first half, second half not so much.”

Tyler Heins also had 10 points for Maple River.

MVL was led by freshman Pierson Brau’s 16 points, while Owen Birkholz had 14 points and Ethan Schauland had 11 points. Merseth didn’t score in the game but had five blocks.

While the second half was tough for the Chargers, the start was a bit bumpy as well as they fell behind 12-2 in the opening minutes after a 3 by Davis, leading Morgan to use his first timeout with 13:50 left in the first half. The Chargers got their 3-point shot going out of the timeout for a 9-0 run, with Schauland hitting one and Brau knocking down a pair to trail 12-11.

The Eagles led 27-23 late in the half before the Chargers took the momentum with a strong defensive effort leading to fast-break buckets.

Getting MVL’s comeback going first was Schauland, who turned a behind-the-back crossover at half court into a fast-break layup. Then Connor Bode got in on the fun with a fast-break layup of his own to tie the game for the first time since the opening tipoff. Moments later, Blake Sexton drove the baseline for 2 to give the Chargers their first lead of the game at 29-27.

Maple River got the last bucket of the half when Heins utilized a pick to get to the hoop for a layup to make it 29-all at the half.

The Eagles flew back in front in a hurry in the second half, however, thanks to multiple 3-pointers. A bucket by Schauland gave MVL its final lead of the night at 34-33 before Maple River ran away with the lead after a 22-0 run put the Eagles up 52-34. Maple River made six 3s during that run, three coming from Davis.

MVL’s lone offensive highlight after that run came from Brau, who drove the baseline and finished at the rim with two-handed slam dunk.

“I thought in the first half we pressured them well in the perimeter and Luke played great defense underneath,” Morgan said. “Then we came in with Sexton for a while and he helped out there, so that was good. We had and we rebounded. The second half we didn’t defend as well and all the sudden you give shots out there and they had a good inside-outside game.”

This was also the Chargers’ first game back since their Kwik Trip Holiday Tournament consolation bracket championship win at Bethany Lutheran College on Dec. 28.

MVL (5-5, 0-1) hosts Tri-City United on Tuesday night. Maple River (7-2, 1-0) hosts Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial.