The Sierra Lutheran High School boys' basketball team brought its non-league schedule to a close with a pair of losses.
The Falcons dropped a 55-42 decision to the junior varsity squad from South Tahoe, a 4A school and lost a 48-47 game to the freshman squad from Lincoln High, a large school in the Sacramento area.
Against South Tahoe, Sierra Lutheran kept things close through the first quarter but suffered a meltdown in the second.
The Vikings took a 32-13 lead into the locker room for halftime, but Sierra Lutheran came back out and outscored South Tahoe 17-7 in the third to close to score to 39-30.
Sierra Lutheran cut the score to 47-41 but coudn't get any closer.
Nick DePaoli and Bob DePaoli each scored 11 points for the Falcons while Taylor Love had 10.
Against Lincoln, Sierra Lutheran built a 23-21 lead through the first half but fell back 42-32 in the third quarter after allowing a 21-9 run.
The Falcons fought back and closed the score to 48-46 with eight seconds left and managed to draw a foul, but the front end of the free throws missed.
Lincoln rebounded the ball and ran the clock out for the win.
Nick DePaoli finished with 15 points, Bob DePaoli had 13 and Andrew Deterding finished with eight.
"Our goal has just been to be competitive once league play rolls around and hopefully win a couple of games," Sierra Lutheran coach Alan Reed said. "We've had those moments so far where we've looked pretty good, but we're still looking for the kids to turn in a complete 32 minutes."
Sierra Lutheran opens league play this weekend with two of the top teams in the Western 1A (Smith Valley and Coleville).
The Falcons host Smith Valley at 7:30 p.m. Friday and travel to Coleville Saturday.
"Those are both pretty good teams," Reed said. "Smith Valley qualified for state last year. Coleville has some real talent and they are my favorite to win the league this year.
"We're coming along though. We have six or seven guys that are competing for playing time and we're just looking to get better."
