Lyle/Pacelli let a golden chance to double its win total slip away Friday night at the Pacelli High School Gym.

With Mabel-Canton visiting, L/P hung within striking distance of the Cougars all night, but were unable to make a late run and wound up falling by a count of 47-41.

"We still have doubts about what we're capable of," said L/P head coach Gary Erlandson, "and that's holding us back on the court."

The loss dropped Erlandson's team to 1-17 and 1-10 in Southeast Conference play.

The first quarter was marred by all-around sloppy play, with plenty of intercepted passes and errant shots coming from both teams. Both teams did pick up their play in the second stanza. Mark Van Winter and Jason Krivachek matched each other basket for basket, both finishing the half with 11 points. It was Krivachek's Mabel-Canton squad though that went into the lockerroom with a 26-25 advantage.

The third quarter mirrored the first, with neither side able to do much offensively. Despite its shooting woes, Lyle/Pacelli found itself only three points down heading into the final quarter, setting the stage for an exciting finish.

"We were too busy passing the ball and not taking advantage of their zone by taking it to the basket," Erlandson said.

Nels Nelson capped a good second half with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 38-36 at the halfway mark of the quarter. Krivachek answered with a crucial three-point play of his own on a drive to the hoop that extended Mabel-Canton's lead to seven with two and a half minutes to play.

In the final minute, the Cougars heightened the drama by shooting themselves in the foot at the foul line, missing the front end of a one-and-one and committing a lane violation that kept it a two possession game at 44-39. Lyle/Pacelli was unable to hit any of its shots though, and M-C's Nathan Pastwa sealed the victory with his only three points of the night, all from the free-throw line.

Lyle/Pacelli got a good effort from Van Winter, who finished with 16 points to pace his squad.

"He always plays hard and contributes positive things," said Erlandson, "mostly by taking whatever the defense gives him."

Nelson came on strong as the game wore on, scoring all nine of his points in the second half. Erlandson was happy with the play of his bench, led by six points from Alex Schilling, who the coach feels is "just better for us coming off the bench than starting."

Mabel-Canton improved to 5-11 and 5-6, thanks to 20 points from Krivachek. Nathan Donald added six points and four blocks on the interior and Brady Bergey contributed seven points and a pair of steals.

Lyle/Pacelli continues its quest for that elusive second win next Thursday at Lanesboro.

Boxscore:

MABEL-CANTON (47) -- Brady Bergey 7, Nathan Pastwa 3, Jason Krivachek 20, Olaf Haugen 6, Nathan Donald 6, Jake Nash 1, Taylor Marsden 2, Adam Tollefson 2, Dan Inglett 0.

LYLE/PACELLI (41) -- Nels Nelson 9, Nick Ehret 2, Joey Greibrok 2, Mark Van Winter 16, Chris Bergstrom 2, David Judd 2, Alex Schilling 6, Alex Halbach 2, Chris Schmidt 0.

Mabel-Canton719912--47

Lyle/Pacelli61979--41

Three-pointers--Mabel-Canton 1 (Krivachek); Lyle/Pacelli 2 (Nelson 2).

Free Throws--Mabel-Canton 11-21; Lyle/Pacelli 11-18.