LYLE — A second half rut slowed down the Lyle/Pacelli boys basketball team in a 68-49 loss to Lanesboro in Lyle Gym Friday.

Lanesboro opened the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 45-31 lead and the closest L/P would get was within 47-39 after a Mark Buntje three-pointer with 8:47 left in the game. After Buntje’s trey, Lanesboro scored the next six points.

“The start of both halves hurt us. We just came out not ready to play,” L/P head coach Reid Olson said.

The Athletics (4-4 overall, 2-2 SEC) stuck with the Burros (4-5 overall, 3-2 SEC) in the first half, despite being without play-making guard Cody Meyer.

L/P’s Kyle Pereault hit four straight free throws to kickstart an 8-0 Athletics run that pulled them to within 31-29 with 1:30 left before the half. But Lanesboro’s Brayden Hebl converted a three-point play with 1:11 left in the half to make it 34-29 Burros at the break.

The difference between the halves was that L/P’s inside threats Brady Stier and Justin Hutchinson scored a combined 23 points in the first 18 minutes, but were limited in the second half to just 11 points combined. Stier finished with 21 points, and nine rebounds while Hutchinson scored 13 — no other Athletic scored more than five.

“As wide and lanky as Lanesboro is, Hutch and Brady pretty much dominated the first half,” Olson said. “They were able to score at will and get good looks. Then for whatever reason we decided that our wings and our guards were gonna stop getting the ball up the floor. We had people standing and watching.”

Stier broke free for a one-handed breakaway jam to make it 21-19 Burros with 5:44 left in the first half.

Lanesboro also got breakaway dunks from Brayden Hebl, who scored 19, and Brett Hungerholt.

“It’s pretty unusual to see a high school game that has three dunks. It was good to see Brady be aggressive and go up strong to the rim,” Olson said.

On defense, L/P just gave up too many easy looks and their 33 turnovers on offense didn’t help matters.

“Defensively we were chasing people. We didn’t take cuts away, we didn’t talk on screens, and we didn’t help out. When you’re playing a physical team like Lanesboro, you can’t do that,” Olson said.

The Athletics also missed Meyer, who was out with an illness.

“You could see it in the locker room before and after the game. It was like ‘Cody’s not here, what are we gonna do?’” The lack of effort we gave tonight is disappointing,” Olson said.

Lanesboro 34 34 — 68

Lyle/Pacelli 29 20 — 49

Lyle/Pacelli

Lyle Pacelli: Brady Stier, 21; Justin Hutchinson, 13; Carter Guthmiller, 5; Kyle Pereault, 4; Matt Buntje, 3; Michael Lonergan, 2; Ryan Rust, 2; free throws: 70 percent (12-for-17); rebounds: 27 (Stier, 9); turnovers: 33

Lanesboro: Brayden Hebl, 19; Colin Bakke, 15; Braden Hanson, 10; Dillon Draper, 8; Brett Hungerholt, 8; Chase Bakke, 5; Lance Harmon, 2; JD Eddy, 1; Shane Austin, 1; free throws: 38 percent (8-for-21); rebounds: 22 (Bakke, 5); turnovers: 27