MANKATO– Des Spann recorded 28 points, 22 coming in the first half, as the Mankato West Scarlets boys’ basketball team defeated the Albert Lea Tigers 64-56 Thursday in Mankato.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Albert Lea coach Lucas Kreuscher said. “We did a good job of going inside and that opened up 3-pointers for us on the perimeter. We had a good balance of inside-outside play in first half.”

Albert Lea used that good offensive balance in the first half to go into the break with a 37-35 lead.

In the second half, the Scarlets made a run and held the Tigers off down the stretch to secure the 64-56 victory.

“We started shooting the ball pretty quickly,” Kreuscher said. “We weren’t patient enough offensively down the stretch.”

Tyler Wichmann led Albert Lea with 20 points and tallied four 3-pointers on the night.

Alik Smed and Kyle Ooms both recorded 13 points for the Tigers, while Silas Randall pulled down a team high 10 rebounds.

Albert Lea hits the court again next Tuesday as they host Big Nine conference rival Owatonna.