The Albert Lea Tigers wanted to take some momentum into the Section 2AAA Boys’ Basketball Tournament.

Instead, they were taking a long, hard look at themselves on a quiet bus ride home after falling 63-46 at Rochester Century Friday night.

&uot;It is quiet,&uot; said coach Matt Addington from his cell phone. &uot;It should be. We said this was a game where we needed to come in and improve and prepare ourselves for (Tuesday’s section opener). We didn’t execute, we didn’t get to loose balls, we didn’t rebound. We were real flat. This was a game that, on paper, didn’t mean anything, and we played like it.&uot;

Albert Lea, 12-12 overall, finished 6-12 in the Big Nine while the Panthers improved to 11-11 and 8-10.

The Tigers trailed 17-7, 25-18 and 43-32 at the breaks.

It was a rough night shooting for the Tigers, who made 16 of 51 from the floor. They were 6-for-12 on threes and 8-for-13 at the line. They outrebounded the Panthers 35-32 but their 17 turnovers was seven more than Century. The Panthers were 24-for-45 from the field (3-for-11 on threes) and 10-for-17 on free throws.

Ben Woodside, coming off a record-breaking performance against United South Central, poured in 27 points.

He also had four steals and three rebounds.

Mike Behrends and Marcus Thorstad scored four points apiece, Thomas Munden three, Stephen Thorn two, Ryan Moore two, Tyler Young two, Ross Habben two. Young had seven rebounds.

The Albert Lea B-squad won 44-43, giving the Bengals four wins in their last five games.

The Tigers begin section play Tuesday at Mankato West in a matchup of the fourth and fifth seeds. The winner plays Saturday afternoon against Mankato East or Waseca at Minnesota State-Mankato.

&uot;The guys need to find it inside themselves to get prepared for the section,&uot; said Addington. &uot;I know they have it in them, and we’ll be extremely focused on Tuesday.&uot;