ROCHESTER — The Athletics hung around for most of the night but ended up on the short end of a 62-46 score in a loss to Goodhue in the Section 1A West Division semifinals in Mayo Civic Center Tuesday.

The third-seeded Athletics (18-10 overall) trailed 57-46 with 1:49 left in the game and No. 3 seeded Goodhue hit five-of-six free throws down the stretch to ice it.

L/P was as close as five at 38-33 after Brady Stier and Justin Hutchinson each scored in a span of two seconds with 10:09 left in the game. Stier drew a foul and scored and Hutchinson put-back his missed free throw.

Just four Athletics scored on the night as Goodhue’s defense stepped up.

“We just needed some more role scoring,” L/P head coach Reid Olson said. “We needed to get more out of Cody (Meyer), Hutch and (Michael) Lonergan. But I’m proud of the effort. I think our kids came out and represented our team and our community with a lot of class and pride.”

Junior center Brady Stier did all he could for the Athletics as he poured in 26 points and grabbed 17 boards against a tall front line for the Wildcats.

“It was just hard work and determination to not be our last game. Everybody worked well together and they did a good job of giving me some room inside,” Stier said. “We played outstanding, but the shots weren’t falling for us tonight.”

pIn the first half, the Athletics had an 8-2 run that saw them take a 21-18 lead with 5:50 left in the game. Stier and Meyer, who scored 10, converted three-point plays during the rally.

Goodhue called a quick time-out after L/P’s run and responded by scoring the next nine and L/P never got closer than five the rest of the way.

For Goodhue, Dan McNamara was a wrecking ball as he bruised his way to 23 points.

“We just needed to help and double down on him,” Stier said. “He surprised you with his quickness. You weren’t ready for a guy that size to move that quick.”

Olson is glad that McNamara will be graduating this spring.

“He’s a truck. I told him when I was shaking hands ‘I don’t ever want to see you again.’ With his size he’s tough to get around and he made some good one-on-one moves,” Olson said.

After losing three of four in early January, L/P won 11 of it’s last 14 contests.

“We look at that first four-game stretch with Houston and Spring Grove in there and we were really at a low point and started to question ourselves,” Olson said. “Then we bought in to the team idea and made a quality run at the end of the season. I thought we were a year away from getting to this point, so it should be a lift to the program.”

Stier was pleased with how his team improved but he said there is some hard work ahead.

“Hopefully our confidence is sky high. We just need to keep working in the offseason and we’ll go farther next year,” he said.

L/P will graduate three seniors: Hutchinson, Matt Buntje, and Weston DeBoer.

Lyle/Pacelli 23 23 — 46

Goodhue 29 33 — 62

L/P scoring: Brady Stier, 26; Cody Meyer, 10; Michael Lonergan, 6; Justin Hutchinson, 4; free throws: 60 percent (6-for-10); rebounds: 30 (Stier, 17); turnovers: 22

Goodhue scoring: Dan McNamara, 23; Ashton Erie, 12; Blayne Erie, 11; DJ Buck, 10; Alan Dicke, 3; Bryce Dankers, 1; free throws: 59 percent (17-for-29); rebounds: 25 (McNamara, 6); turnovers: 11