The Lyle-Pacelli boys basketball team made a second half surge, but it couldn’t make the final push in a 64-46 loss at Spring Grove (13-2 overall, 10-1 SEC) Thursday.

The Athletics (8-4 overall, 8-3 SEC) trailed by 18 points at the half, but they battled back to within three points with three minutes left and they had the ball. However, LP committed back-to-back turnovers that Spring Grove turned into lay-ups and the Lions closed the game out at the free throw line.

“The effort is there, we just have to learn how to close out these games,” LP head coach Dean DeBoer said. “When you play with a mixture of young and old guys, you have to live with it a little bit.”

LP 16 30 —  46

SG 34 30 —  64

LP scoring: Kocer, 4; Bauer, 2; Cotter, 16; Anderson, 3; Hart, 5; Jiskra, 16; free throws: 50 percent (3-for-6)