The Southland boys basketball team survived a trip to Riceville, Iowa with a 57-51 win Monday.

Riceville hit 14 of 16 free throws in the first half to take a 29-28 lead and it shot 29 total free throws, but Southland (6-1 overall) came back strong in the second half as Nick Schmitz finished with 20 points.

“It’s very different than the Three Rivers,” Southland head coach Jon Thalberg said. “There was a lot of touch fouls both ways, but the kids did a good job of fighting through it. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it’s a win.”

Southland 28 29 — 57

Riceville 29 22 — 51

Southland scoring: Nick Schmitz, 20; Mike Goergen, 15; Jake Frodl, 9; Decker Bendtsen, 6; Chris Wolff, 4; Mike Felten, 2; Marcus Johnson, 1; free throws: 53 percent (10-for-19)