The St. Aloysius Flashes reached the midway point of the basketball season with a chance to hit the reset button. The only thing they’ll have to carry with them into 2018 is a district loss.

St. Al wiped out a 10-point deficit early in the second half, but never could stay over the hump Friday against Park Place. The Flashes missed their last four shots while Park Place hit six free throws in the same span, and the Crusaders hung on for a 61-54 victory in the District 3-AAA opener for both teams.

“We’re busting our butts and we’re not reaping the benefit of the butt-busting,” St. Al coach Eddie Pickle said. “But I say this every time: I love the effort, and I always will, because I know they’re not going to quit on me. I saw some good things tonight. Our game plan worked. We just didn’t get some shots to fall, and they made more free throws than I anticipated.”

It was the fifth loss in six games for St. Al (5-6, 0-1 District 3-AAA), which only had eight players dressed out Friday and were also playing their first game without leading scorer and rebounder Jaylen Whitaker. Whitaker left the team earlier this week.

The good news is that the Flashes have a couple of weeks to figure out a solution to their slump and revamp their tactics. They don’t play again until Jan. 4, when they go across town to play Porter’s Chapel Academy.

“It would have been nice to go into the Christmas holidays 1-0 in district instead of 0-1,” Pickle said. “But I know we can play with that team now, and we’ve had three practices without our big man. I’m seeing us come together a little bit better. The chemistry is there. We just have to make sure that everybody knows their role and where they’re supposed to be.”

Despite being outmanned, the Flashes were never out of the game Friday. They went four minutes without a point at the start of the third quarter, then scored 11 straight in a little more than a minute to take a 38-37 lead.

Park Place quickly regained it, however, and St. Al was never able to get it back.

Presley Craddock drove through the lane for an easy layup with 1:30 left in the game to put the Crusaders ahead 55-52, and they won a free throw contest down the stretch. Miles Owens hit four free throws and Nick Burks two in the last 1:13 to close it out.

St. Al missed two 3-pointers, a layup, and two free throws in the same span. Its only points in the last two minutes were on a pair of free throws by Phillip Upshaw with 26 seconds to go.

“We panicked just a little bit. They think if you’re down six you’ve got to have a 3, and don’t understand that you can just score. But that’s going to come with some experience and some teaching. I’m going to take the blame for that, because I haven’t taught it to them,” Pickle said.

Thomas Trichell led St. Al with 14 points, and his brother James Trichell had 11. Braxton Chewning had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Jamal Hughes led Park Place with 16 points. The Crusaders’ leading scorer, Tyler Martins, did not score a point.

Owens finished with 10 points, and was 5-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter — something Pickle said he didn’t expect and that threw the team’s game plan out of whack.

“I did not expect (Owens) to make those free throws. That was who I was trying to foul. When you game plan and look at their stats and say, ‘This is the kid we’re going to need to foul down the stretch,’ and for some strange reason that’s the guy the other coach is trying to get the ball, maybe the stats don’t really reflect what he can do,” Pickle said. “We fouled the right guy. He just made the free throws.”

(G) Park Place 53, St. Aloysius 22

Summer Dotson scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter, and Park Place hit six 3-pointers in the second en route to a win over St. Aloysius on Friday.

Avery Price made three of the second-quarter 3-pointers for the Lady Crusaders to account for all nine of her points.

Park Place led 48-14 at halftime.

Taylor Chewning and Grace Upshaw led St. Al with eight points apiece.