LYLE — The Lyle/Pacelli boys basketball team had some ups and downs but it never trailed in a 77-64 win over Medford in Lyle Thursday.

After the Tigers (4-17 overall) mounted an 8-1 run to pull within 59-50 with 11:53 left in the game, the Athletics (14-9 overall) responded with a 12-2 run of their own to make it 71-52 with 7:32 left in the game.

Michael Lonergan, who had a career-high 22 points on the night, hit a key baseline three during the rally.

“They kind of went on a run. We just regrouped and said this is enough and got out of our slump,” Lonergan said. “I think we came ready to play tonight. We just came out and played our style and made it happen. They always play us tough and tonight was no different.”

Lonergan was one of three Athletics to break the 20-point barrier. Cody Meyer had 28 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and eight steals, and Brady Stier had 21 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five blocks.

“Having a third scorer helps us a lot because they’re just gonna double down on (Brady and I),” Meyer said. “It’s really nice having Lonny step up. It’s like having another quarterback out there.”

Lonergan hit four threes on the night and that was mostly due to Meyer’s penetration.

“When Cody’s on, he just gets the whole team going,” Lonergan said. “When he’s driving and penetrating he can dish it out and he can make some pretty crazy shots.”

The Athletics led 50-36 at the break but slowed down a bit in the second half as Medford packed in it’s defense. L/P scored just 27 in the last 18 minutes.

“We just didn’t really come out with the same intensity in the second half. They did a good job of taking away the inside and we missed some threes,” L/P head coach Reid Olson said.

Olson said the defense against Medford’s dribble penetration was crucial for the victory.

“We did a good job of stopping dribble penetration,” he said. “It seems like every game we lose we do a terrible job of stopping the dribble.”

After Medford pulled to within 32-22 in the first half on a three-point play by Jon Borst, the Athletics responded with a 9-2 run that was capped by a steal and pull-up three by Meyer.

“We’ve been working really hard in practice because we’ve kind of learned that if we don’t work hard in practice it carries over to games,” Meyer said. “We need to get going and carry some momentum into the postseason.”

With the win over Medford, the Athletics will likely enter the Section 1A Tournament as a No. 3 seed.

The game started on a harsh note as Medford’s Jay Paulson was ejected after committing a flagrant foul on Meyer just under two minutes into the contest.

L/P 50 27 — 77

Medford 36 26 — 64

L/P scoring: Cody Meyer, 28; Michael Lonergan, 22; Brady Stier, 21; Kyle Pereault, 2; Matt Buntje, 2; Justin Hutchinson, 1; Weston DeBoer, 1; free throws: 69 percent (16-for-23); rebounds: 33 (Stier, 11); turnovers: 16

Medford scoring: Phil Heimerman, 16; Garrett Taylor, 14; Jeremy Kasper, 8; Brandon Davis, 8; Brad Lovgren, 7; Jon Borst, 7; Matt Clevenger, 4; free throws: 74 percent (17-for-23); rebounds: 18; turnovers: 19