The United South Central boys’ basketball team was hoping to pull off its third straight victory on Friday night as it hosted Bethlehem Academy.

The Rebels were unable to climb out of an early hole they found themselves in as they fell to the Cardinals, 62-35.

It was a rough beginning of the game for the Rebels as they were unable to record their first basket until after the five-minute mark in the first half. While they struggled offensively, the Cardinals got out to a hot start, building up a 12-point lead before the Rebels could score.

The scoring drought was finally ended by sophomore AJ Kloos with a mid-range jumper to get the Rebels on the board. The game played more evenly throughout the rest of the first half. Junior Colby Klocek kept the Rebels in the game scoring six straight points midway through the first half.

The Rebels rallied a bit of a comeback late in the half with an eight-point run of their own, but they would give the momentum right back, allowing the Cardinals to score five straight to end the half. The Rebels went to the locker rooms down, 39-23.

United South Central would go on another scoring drought to start the second half, this time not scoring until more than eight minutes into the action. Kloos would again be the one to break up the drought with a contested layup.

The Cardinals, however, by then had a commanding lead of the game and held onto it until the final buzzer.

The Rebels were lead in scoring by Klocek with nine points. He was followed by junior Nolan Magnuson with six.

United South Central falls .500 on the season with a record of 3-3. The Rebels will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Blue Earth to take on Jackson County Center in the first round of the Blue Earth Area Tournament.