It had been six games since Lyle/Pacelli's boys' basketball team had earned its first, last and only win of the season, while second-ranked LeRoy-Ostrander was fresh off its first loss. Needless to say, Lyle/Pacelli simply got in the way.

The Cardinals from L-O started anew with a 70-46 Southeast Conference victory over visiting Lyle/Pacelli Tuesday night in LeRoy. L/P surprised the Cardinals with an early lead, but LeRoy-Ostrander -- still reminiscing in its first loss of the year -- rebounded in championship form.

L-O outscored L/P 24-7 in the second quarter to take a 40-17 lead at the halftime break, and the rest was awash.

"We started our play well, but the second quarter obviously was the first of our downfall," said Lyle/Pacelli coach Gary Erlandson. "Finally we came back and played better in the fourth quarter, but of course the game was well out of hand at that point."

Lyle/Pacelli (1-16, 1-9) nearly doubled its score with 22 of its 46 points coming in the fourth quarter, but L-O (17-1, 10-0) led 52-24 entering the final frame. Chad Orum scored 17 points to lead the Cardinals, while Nick Ehret had 17 for L/P.

"We were real sluggish early," said LeRoy-Ostrander coach Russ Foster. "We hadn't practiced since Friday, when we lost, but we eventually got going and started pushing the ball down the court."

The Cardinals were knocked down by host Dover-Eyota Friday night in a non-conference match, 51-50, on a jumper by Mike Hammel with three seconds remaining. L-O left little doubt at home Tuesday.

"We pressured them a lot and I thought our pressure really got to them," Foster said. "It was a good win, we needed to bounce back after Friday."

Erlandson was again pleased to see his team give hints to its overall ability, but he's hoping a whole game will be played at home Friday night against Mabel-Canton.

"I was really happy with the way we began the ballgame," Erlandson said. "The kids played really well in the fourth quarter. It's not enough to win a ballgame, but obviously it looks good for us.

"We've faced (Mabel-Canton) twice this year and we really match up with them -- well enough to get a win."

Lyle/Pacelli lost by eight and 10 points in respective meetings with Mabel-Canton earlier this season. LeRoy-Ostrander hosts Lanesboro on Friday before visiting Class AA's seventh-rated St. Charles Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

"That'll be a real challenge," Foster added.

Boxscore:

LYLE/PACELLI (46) -- Nick Ehret 17, Nels Nelson 13, Mark Van Winter 7, David Judd 1, Joey Greibrok 2, Chris Bergstrom 6.

LEROY-OSTRANDER (70) -- Shane Bunne 1, Andrew Knight 8, Neil Bucknell 2, Nate Miller 4, Dustin Thorson 8, Chris Newton 1, Tom Reburn 4, John Hanks 12, Ben Adams 13, Chad Orum 17.

Lyle/Pacelli107722--46

LeRoy-Ostr.16241218--70

Free-throws--L/P 4-8; L-O 15-20.

Three-pointers--L/P 0; L-O 1 (Adams).