Niagara's Anthony Hansen (42) and Landen Kaldor (5) go for a loose ball against Gillett on Monday in Niagara, Wis. (Burt Angeli/The Daily News)

NIAGARA, Wis. — One of the M&O Conference’s leading scorers broke loose late in the first half and led Gillett past Niagara 71-56 on Monday.

Cole Long, who stands third in conference scoring with a 16.4 average, scored five of his seven first-half points in the final minute. The senior finished the game with 25.

“We were were concentrating on him,” said Niagara coach Jim Hoogland. “He didn’t score his points until right to the end (of the first half). I told them in the locker room you’re going to have to get on him now.

“He wasn’t looking to shoot (in the first half). In the second half we lost him a few times.”

The Badgers (2-19, 2-13) trailed 30-28 late in the first half. The Tigers followed with eight unanswered points for a 36-28 halftime spread.

In the second half, Niagara moved to within 45-39 at 12:54. Long then scored six points to ignite an 11-1 run over the next three minutes.

“We had a few defensive breakdowns, bad turnovers that led to a couple of easy baskets and that was probably the difference in the game,” Hoogland said. But we battled the whole night.”

Hoogland, who plans to retire from coaching after this season, admired the effort for 36 minutes. He noted his Badgers with a 36-28 rebound edge and Anthony Hansen with eight.

“This is the most intensity we’ve shown for a whole game,” Hoogland said. “We really battled on the boards.”

Landen Kaldor led the Badgers with 19 points and Tristan DeJardin added 18.

The Badgers wrap up the regular season Thursday at Coleman. They open WIAA Division 5 regional play Tuesday, Feb. 26, at Suring.

Aidan Hagerty’s 16 points led the Niagara junior varsity past Gillett 39-36 in overtime.

Gillett 36 35 — 71

Niagara 28 28 — 56

GILLETT (71): Long 25, Krause 11, Herzog 5, Krueger 2, Carroll 6, Block 9, Framnes 13. FT: 3-4. F: 10. 3-point FG: Long 1, Krause 1, Herzog 1, Framnes 1. Rebounds: 28.

NIAGARA (56): Kaldor 19, DeJardin 18, Bath 3, Tripp 4, Sweig 5, Hansen 7. FT: 6-17. F: 8. 3-point FG: Kaldor 2, DeJardin 4, Sweig 1, Hansen 1. FG shooting: 21-57. Rebounds: 35 (Hansen 8).