A fourth-quarter drought on the offensive end of the court doomed Seymour’s boys basketball team Saturday afternoon.

After seizing control of the game in the third quarter, the Owls managed just seven points in the final period, which allowed an opportunistic Salem team to escape with a 44-39 victory.

"We stopped attacking," Seymour coach Tyler Phillips said. "We went into ‘don’t lose’ mode instead of ‘play to win’ mode."

During the game’s first three quarters, Seymour (3-14) confounded Salem with a mixture of zone and aggressive man-to-man defenses.

The Lions (12-6) entered Saturday’s game averaging 58.5 points but were limited by the Owls to 26 points on 9-for-33 shooting (27 percent) after 24 minutes of play.

Seymour enjoyed a 32-26 lead when the final quarter began but couldn’t hang on as the game’s momentum shifted.

Salem held the Owls scoreless for five minutes and tied the game thanks to six-straight points by Lions forward Gavin Fleming.

A steal and a fast-break layup by senior Jack Roberts with 3:04 left in the game restored Seymour’s lead to 34-32, but the Owls would go scoreless again over the next two-plus minutes.

With the lead finally in hand, Salem used foul shooting to keep its advantage.

As poorly as the Lions shot from the field throughout the game (12 for 40, 30 percent), they were just as accurate from the line, making 19 of 24 attempts during the game and an impressive 12 for 13 during the fourth quarter.

Saturday’s result extended Seymour’s losing streak to seven games.

During the streak, offensive production has been a major concern. The Owls have scored more than 40 points just once since their 54-42 win over Charlestown on Jan. 5.

"When you give up just 44 points, you’ve got to find a way to win," Phillips said. "As a coaching staff, we’ve got to find ways to get our guys to the rim. We’ve got to find ways to get our guys into a position to score."

Junior guard Eric McCoy was Seymour’s best offensive option against Salem, hitting a game-high three 3-pointers and finishing with 15 points. Jayden Brown followed with seven points, while Roberts added six points.

Seymour has a week to regroup before taking on South Ripley (8-10) on Feb. 9 and Greensburg (16-1) on Feb. 12.

"This group is mentally tough. They’re resilient," Phillips said. "They still have the mentality that they want to go 1-0 with each game. They’re able to forget about the last game and get ready for the next one."