GRAND MEADOW — The LeRoy/Ostrander boys basketball team cranked up the defensive pressure to put an end to their four-game losing skid at the Grand Meadow Invite Thursday.

The Cardinals used a relentless full court press to dominate the second half of a 52-43 win over Alden/Conger (3-3 overall).

“They finally woke up,” L/O head coach Jason Jude said.

L/O (2-6 overall) forced 15 second half turnovers as they turned an early 10-point deficit into a lead down the stretch.

“If we didn’t try to force that many turnovers, we would’ve ended up losing the game,” said Jude. “We knew they didn’t have very good ball handlers and we had to force the tempo on them.”

A/C jumped out to a 35-25 lead early in the second half as Tyler Adix, a 6-5 senior center, got free for a couple of easy hoops.

But the Cardinals answered with a 15-point run that was triggered by a pair of three-pointers by freshman Nate Bunne, who scored all eight of his points in the second half.

Once Bunne hit those shots, the Cards got much more aggressive and they eventually drew the fourth foul on Adix with 10 minutes to go in the game.

“We started driving more and trying to draw fouls,” said Kirk Nelson, who had 14 points in the game and five steals in the second half. “Once we got the big guy in foul trouble it was a lot easier to set up the outside shot. It’s kind of intimidating to see a big guy like that in there, he takes up a lot of space.”

L/O led by at least three points the rest of the way and Mitch Scaglione hit a key hook shot to make it 44-37 with 5:52 left in the game.

Bunne hit a runner to put L/O up 46-39 with 4:56 left in the game and the Cards also got a big night from sophomore Dom Lazzara, who poured in 15 points to lead the team.

“They’re getting a lot better,” Nelson, a senior, said of Bunne and Lazzara. “They started off a little rough without much experience, but they’re getting a lot better the more they play with us.”

A/C 26 17 — 43

L/O 22 30 — 52

L/O scoring: Dom Lazzara, 15; Kirk Nelson, 14; Nate Bunne, 8; Mark Miller, 6; Jordan Osmudsen, 2; Mitch Scaglione, 2; Zach Roysten, 2; free throws: 41 percent (9-for-22)