Lyle/Pacelli Athletics boys basketball team downs Hayfield 62-50 Tuesday evening

The Lyle/Pacelli Athletics boys basketball team faced a stern early-season test at All Saints Arena at Pacelli Catholic Schools in Austin Tuesday evening as they played host to perennial Section 1A power Hayfield from the Gopher Conference, and guard Landon Meyer had yet another huge game with 26 points, eight rebounds and three steals as the Athletics knocked off the Vikings by a score of 62-50.

The Athletics took their first lead at 3-2 in the early going, and they then proceeded to go on a 22-8 run to take a 25-10 lead.  They were able to push their lead to as large as 19 at 33-14 on their way to leading 40-21 at the end of the first half, but the Vikings were able to cut the gap at one time to seven points in the second half at 48-41.  LP had an answer, though, with a 12-3 run to open a 16-point lead at 60-44 lead on their way to the 12-point win.

Besides Meyer’s 26 points, junior forward Dylan Christianson was also in double figures in scoring with 13 points, plus he added two rebounds, two assists and a team high six blocked shots, which were all the blocked shots in the game for LP, Leland Hicks and Isaac Nelsen each swished two 3-pointers for six points apiece, plus Nelsen pulled in a team-high 12 rebounds, Andrew Fredrick also scored six points, plus he added five rebounds and three steals, Marshall Burma drained one of LP’s 10 3-pointers in the game for three points, and Chase Bauer chipped in two points and a team-high four steals in the win.  While the Athletics were 10 for 26 from behind the 3-point arc, Hayfield was held to 1 for 15 shooting from 3-point range in the game for only 6.7%, and LP’s defense also forced 20 Viking turnovers for the contest.

With the big win on their home court, the Athletics are now 4-2 overall on the season, and the club returns to action in the Southeast Conference Thursday night in Lanesboro versus the Burros, with the varsity tip-off scheduled for 7:15 p.m.