CLEAR LAKE – Aberdeen Roncalli could not get over the hump Thursday night, falling 52-44 to Deuel in a Northeast Conference boys’ basketball contest.

Roncalli led by two points at the half and trailed by one at the outset of the fourth quarter, but struggled to find enough offense down the stretch as the Cardinals pulled away for the victory.

“Defensively, we played sound,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “Our goal was to hold them to 45 and we did OK in that area, but we sent them to the line too often. A lot of those were because we’d gamble and put ourselves in bad positions defensively, or we gave up an offensive rebound and fouled on that.”

Still, the Cavaliers stayed within striking distance until late in the contest thanks, in part, to a 20-point night from Jesse Hernandez.

“Offensively, we really struggled to find our flow,” Gallagher said. “They switched screens on us, and that’s something we seemed flustered with. We didn’t adjust well by slipping screens or cutting off the high post. We found ourselves too often in isolation situations and struggled to find good looks.”

Hernandez was the lone Cavalier to find double digits in the game. Bryson Olson added six points to the Roncalli total, and also grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds.

Deuel was led by Jaxtin Winter’s 18 points. Troy Jensen notched 16 and Sutton Benck tossed in another eight.

Roncalli, 5-12 on the season, is home to face Langford Area Saturday night at Roncalli Gym in the Cavaliers’ final home game of the season.

Aberdeen Roncalli 16 26 37 44

Deuel 13 24 38 52

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-12): Jesse Hernandez 5 6-9 20, Austin Fisher 2 0-0 4, Quinten Shelton 0 2-2 2, Creighton Fisher 2 0-0 5, Bryson Olson 3 0-2 6, Sam Larson 1 0-2 3, Mason Berndt 2 0-0 4. Totals 15-52 8-15 44.

DEUEL (7-13): Gavin Maaland 0 1-2 1, Sutton Benck 3 2-3 8, Troy Jensen 5 5-5 16, Jaxtin Winter 6 6-7 18, Nolan Gubrud 3 0-0 7, Kyle Finnesand 1 0-1 2. Totals 18-55 14-18 52.

3-pt field goals – Hernandez 4, C. Fisher, Larson; Jensen, Gubrud. Totals – Aberdeen Roncalli 22; Deuel 15. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 26 (Olson 8, A. Fisher 6); Deuel 30 (Finnesand 16). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 17; Deuel 14. Assists – Aberdeen Roncalli 7; Deuel 7. Blocked shots – Aberdeen Roncalli 2; Deuel 6 (Finnesand 3) Steals – Aberdeen Roncalli 5 (Hernandez 3); Deuel 11 (Jenson 4, Finnesand 3).