Southland just missed an upset in a 73-69 loss to No. 2 seeded Maple River in the first round of the ‘AA’ South Subsection boys basketball tournament on the road Tuesday.

Southland senior Chris May had a game-tying lay-up rim out with 30 seconds left and Maple River (22-5 overall) hit two free throws to ice the game.

“I thought it was going in and then they got the rebound,” Southland head coach Jon Thalberg said. “It was a shot he’d made all night and it just went out.”

The Rebels (15-12 overall) trailed by 12 after Alan May fouled out with nine minutes left. They chipped away until they tied it at 69 on a lay-up by Chris May with 1:30 to go in the game.

“I feel bad for Alan because he’s such a competitor and he hardly got to see the court tonight,” Thalberg said. “But I’m proud of my guys for fighting back. It was a good game and its just unfortunate we had to lose.”

Southland scoring: Chris May, 19; Mike Goergen, 17; Clint Bergene, 12; Sam Noterman, 9; Nick Schmitz, 6; Alan May, 4; Zach Heimer, 2; free throws: 63 percent (5-for-8)