NEW ALBANY — Seymour’s boys basketball team suffered a case of the holiday blahs during a 57-47 loss to New Albany on Tuesday night.

The Owls scored the game’s first bucket then never seriously threatened a struggling New Albany team the rest of the night.

Seymour shot just 18-for-45 from the field, including 5-for-18 from 3-point range. Even the foul line was unfriendly territory for the Owls, who made just six of 13 free throws.

New Albany, meanwhile, enjoyed a fun evening on the foul line, making 26 free throws while watching three Owls foul out of the contest.

The Bulldogs (4-4) set the game’s tone by scoring 14 unanswered points in the first quarter to take command.

When Seymour’s Andrew Levine nearly single-handedly brought his team back to within two points in the second quarter, New Albany responded by closing out the first half with a 17-6 run that restored their double-digit lead.

The Owls would fight back to 48-42 in the fourth quarter, but the battle was uphill throughout. New Albany camped out on the foul line, making 12 free throws in the final period, and ending the game with an emphatic dunk by Josten Carter at the buzzer.

Levine and point guard Charlie Longmeier were Seymour’s most reliable players on Tuesday night.

Levine ended with 12 points, including a couple of 3-pointers. Longmeier had his best offensive effort of the season while scoring a team-high 15 points.

Tuesday’s loss dropped Seymour’s season record to 5-3, its Hoosier Hills Conference mark to 2-1 and handed the Owls their first back-to-back losses of the season. The defeat extended Seymour’s losing streak to New Albany to 23. The Owls last beat the Bulldogs in 2005.

Despite the difficult ending, the night got off to a great start for Seymour as the freshman team won its contest with New Albany, 49-34, and the junior varsity Owls walked off the court with a thrilling 48-46 win in overtime thanks to Ethan Silcox’s game-ending buzzer-beating 3-pointer.