ADAMS —The Lyle-Pacelli boys basketball team dealt with foul trouble to one of its go-to scorers for much of the day, but it finished with authority as it beat Southland 74-58 in Adams Saturday.

The Athletics (11-3 overall) closed the game on a 26-11 spurt over the last nine minutes of the game to close out the win.

“As far as the regular season goes, it’s the biggest win we’ve had in our subsection in a long time,” LP head coach Dean DeBoer said. “I told the kids to enjoy it today and on Monday we’ll get back and get focused for LeRoy.”

LP’s Noah Jiskra finished with 20 points, but it didn’t look like he was headed that way when he sat most of the first half in foul trouble. Jiskra helped put the finishing touches on the win when he converted a 3-point play to put LP up 62-51 with 6:22 left in the game.

“We started running our offense and everything started to click. Coach gave a lot of confidence to me and the team as a whole,” Jiskra said. “It was very tough [to watch in the first half], but you just have to support your team. That’s the most important thing.”

Jordan Hart helped get the Athletics going when he scored 15 points in the first half and he finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Braden Kocer also had a big night as he had 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Hart said he knew the meaning of Saturday’s game in the Section 1A West seedings and it was an opportunity for the Athletics to move up.

“This game was important,” Hart said. “Right from the start when we got on the bus we had to be focused. I’m proud of how we played, the team’s great and I love playing with them. I think this will boost our confidence and if we keep playing like this we’ll get a good seed in the playoffs.”

Southland (5-14 overall) was led by Jared Landherr, who had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals and Josh Anderson had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

DeBoer, who is a Lyle grad, is hoping the Athletics can reignite a rivalry with Southland.

“I think Jordan took this game personally,” DeBoer said. “Southland and Lyle used to be big rivals when they were in our conference. Hopefully it’s renewed now and I think it will be for a long time. They’re a good team from a good conference and we’re happy to get the win.”

LP 38 36 — 74

Southland 37 21 — 58

LP scoring: Jordan Hart, 23; Noah Jiskra, 20; Braden Kocer, 10; Jordan Cotter, 9; Lee Bauer, 4; Trinity Anderson, 3; Nathan Drees, 2; Brennen Ruis, 2; free throws: 63 percent (17-for-27); rebounds: 35 (Hart, 10); turnovers: 12

Southland scoring: Jared Landherr, 14; Chris Webber, 13; James Landherr, 12; Josh Anderson, 11; Jackson Koenigs, 4; Brandon Bergene, 4; free throws: 71 percent (17-for-24)