With five minutes left in the second quarter, the thing that every Albert Lea High School boys’ basketball fan fears most happened.

Ben Woodside, the Tigers’ standout junior guard, went down with an injury.

The Tigers did their best to use it as motivation and, when Woodside did return he provided some inspiration, but Albert Lea lost 67-57 to Faribault in a Big Nine game at ALHS Thursday night.

&uot;You hate losing, but I want the guys to feel like I do in that I’m proud of their effort,&uot; said coach Matt Addington, who was critical of his squad after a lop-sided loss at Rochester John Marshall Tuesday.

&uot;This was kind of a defining game for us coming off the JM game,&uot; added Addington. &uot;We had a great practice yesterday, and I’m proud of the effort tonight. The guys really committed to each other to make their best effort possible in practice and in games, and they followed through on it tonight. I can’t fault their hard work and effort tonight. We played real, real hard. Faribault played outstanding.&uot;

Faribault’s shooting was the biggest factor. The Falcons made seven of 14 three-point attempts and 15 of 29 shots inside the arc and were 16-for-24 at the free-throw line.

The win was the fourth in a row for Faribault after two losses to start the season.

&uot;Faribault is scoring big and playing real well right now,&uot; said Addington.

The Falcons led 20-19, 33-28 and 57-38 at the breaks.

The Tigers, who outrebounded Faribault 27-24, were 13-for-18 on two-point shots and 6-for-17 on threes. They made 13 of 18 free throws. Both teams had 14 turnovers.

Woodside finished with 20 points. Tyler Young scored 12, Mike Behrends nine, Stephen Thorn six, Ross Habben four, Tom Munden three and Ryan Moore three. Young had nine rebounds, Thorn seven rebounds and four steals.

Addington said Woodside sustained a badly sprained ankle, and it’s not known when he’ll return to the lineup.

&uot;We’re going to list him as day-to-day,&uot; said Addington. &uot;He really gutted it out. He came back in and I would say was arguably the best player on the floor even with one leg.&uot;

Addington said it was nice to see players like Moore, Habben and Marcus Thorstad step up their game and Thorn play with increased confidence in Woodside’s absence.

The Tigers’ record fell to 1-3, all in the Big Nine. They have their first nonconference game of the season Saturday at 4 p.m. at Waseca.