HAYFIELD — It was worth the wait for Hayfield junior Bobbie Stephens.

After attempting just two shots in the first half and scoring three points, Stephens poured in 20 second half points to lead No. 3 seeded Hayfield past No. 6 New Richland/H/E/G 72-58 in the first round of the Section 2AA South Division boys basketball tournament in Hayfield Tuesday.

Stephens, who was five-for-six on threes, hit three treys in a two-minute span in the second half to turn a 35-30 game into a 44-33 Hayfield lead.

“We always want good shots and we don’t want to force too many things, because then you end up getting really close in a game that shouldn’t be close and then you end up losing,” Stephens said of his patience in the first half. “They were kind of scrambling towards the end so they had to play more uptight towards the half court. That left me open a few times.”

The Vikings (16-10 overall) never trailed in the second half, but they did have to fight off a late Panther flurry that saw NRHEG (13-13 overall) hit five threes late in the game.

“They shot the lights out there for awhile,” Hayfield head coach Chris Pack said. “Fortunately we did a good job of taking care of the ball and making enough free throws down the stretch.”

While the Panthers shut down Stephens in the first half, Tyler Krekling, who finished with 15 points and four assists, got things started. He was aggressive to the hoop early on as a creator.

“We knew they were going to shut Bobbie down because they saw how he could shoot earlier this season,” Krekling said. “I knew I’d have to drive a little bit more and take some of the pressure off of him.”

Hayfield beat the Panthers 75-50 earlier this season, but NRHEG had won eight of its last nine coming into Tuesday’s game.

“I told our guys they’re playing a lot better than they were. We knew it would be a tougher game,” Pack said.

Hayfield freshman point guard Cole Kruger gave the Vikings a boost as he finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. He scored 11 in the first half as he was able to have some success by posting up.

“That was huge to get Cole going early,” Pack said. “You never know what your’e going to get from a freshman in his first playoff game, but he stepped up and our guys did a good job of getting him the ball.”

Hayfield will now take on No. 2 seeded Kasson/Mantorville (19-7 overall) in Kasson Thursday at 6 p.m.

K/M won both regular season meetings with Hayfield.

NRHEG 24 34 — 58

Hayfield 31 41 — 72

Hayfield scoring: Bobbie Stephens, 23; Cole Kruger, 15; Tyler Krekling, 15; Brady Kramer, 8; Brady Stevens, 7; Tyler Anderson, 4; rebounds: 26 (Kruger, 6); free throws: 65 percent (26-for-40); turnovers: 11

NRHEG scoring: Matt Carlson, 16; Sam Lundberg, 11; Hunter Eustice, 10; Evan Ferber, 9; Matt Nafe, 8; Tyler Sorensen, 4; free throws: 67 percent (6-for-9); rebounds: 25 (Carlson, 5); turnovers: 9