St. Clair continued to inch closer to its first boys basketball victory of the season, but fell short Friday at home against De Soto.
The Bulldogs (0-5) had opportunities, but suffered a 49-44 loss to the Dragons.
Trailing 47-44, St. Clair had possession of the ball with 42 seconds left in the game.
The Bulldogs had three open three-point shot attempts for the tie, but couldn’t get them to go.
The Dragons (2-0) made two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
“We had our chances. We had three three-point shots for the tie. I thought all of them were down, but they just didn’t fall,” said St. Clair Head Coach Casey Corn. “We will figure out how to win games soon. Once we do, we will be a hard out.”
The score was close throughout the contest.
De Soto held leads of 13-8 after one quarter, 30-23 at halftime and 36-34 after three quarters.
Neyko Dominguez led the Bulldogs in the scoring column with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Evan Murphy added 11 points.
Reno Jones finished with seven points and four rebounds.
Ben Feddersen and Brandon York both scored four points. Feddersen added three rebounds.
Will Rolley had two points. Evan Powell grabbed five rebounds.
Austin Gotway and Spencer Crumbaugh also played.
St. Clair played without Adam Brott, who was on a football visit.
Shawn Leanord scored 22 points for the Dragons. Jake Patzner added 16 points.
The Bulldogs were 10-17 from the free-throw line. De Soto was 14-21 from the charity stripe.
“We lost our composure and gave them extra possessions and free throws down the stretch,” Corn said. “It’s a learning experience and we will be better for it in the long run. We have been right there. These guys won’t quit.”
