New Hampton boys break through with their first NEIC win

The halftime talk didn't sink in until about three minutes had elapsed in the second half, but when it did, New Hampton took firm control of Friday night's game with Oelwein.  The Chickasaws used a 25-0 run that stretched deep into the fourth quarter on its way to a 61-35 victory that not only gave New Hampton its first Northeast Iowa Conference victory of the season but also extended Oelwein's NEIC winless streak to 55 games.  And the following day, New Hampton traveled to Luther College in Decorah and evened its record at 4-4 with an 80-66 win over Lanesboro, Minn., in a "Border Battle" game.  Add it all up, and it was a pretty good way to start 2017.  "I'm not sure I'd call either game a work of art," New Hampton coach Chad Sweitzer said. "There are things we certainly still need to work on, but I loved the effort from the boys. Even when things weren't going great, they fought through it."  Start with the Oelwein game because the Huskies certainly hung around long enough that they had reason to believe they could get their first NEIC win since Jan. 31, 2012.Oelwein's 1-3-1 defense gave New Hampton fits at times, but once New Hampton solved the riddle, it was lights out.  For the full story, please see the Jan. 10 Tribune.