ALEXANDRIA — The Lapel boys basketball team finished fourth in the Madison County Basketball Tournament Jan. 5 at Alexandria.

Anderson defeated the Bulldogs 57-46 in the rematch from the season opener that saw Lapel defeat the Indians in double overtime.

After an 11-3 Anderson run, the Indians’ guns went silent, and Lapel battled back to cut the deficit to 13-10 at the end of the first period.

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Bulldog Luke Richardson’s hot hand led Lapel as it attacked in a duel that ended at the half with Lapel up 27-25. Richardson had 15 of his 17 points in the first half.

Neither team could sustain an advantage. The final period opened with a tie at 36, but then everything changed.

The Indians went on a 21-10 scoring run that doomed Lapel’s chances of a third-place county finish as the Bulldogs could muster only 19 points in the second half of play.

“We just haven’t been able to finish games this season,” coach Jimmie Howell said. “You’ve got to be able to close out games, and we’ve had four or five where we’ve been ahead in the second half and haven’t been able to close them out.”

At the free-throw line, the Indians sank 14-18; while Lapel shot 83 percent at the line, it had just six opportunities.

Since the beginning of the holiday break, Lapel played six games, and the Bulldogs faced Anderson in the consolation after losing to Alexandria 53-47 in the second round of play.

“We’ll take some time off, get our legs back under us and get back at it,” Howell said.

With their season record at 6-5, the Bulldogs enter a five-game home stand beginning with Hamilton Heights on Jan. 11 and Greenfield-Central on Jan. 12.