Trinity Lutheran boys basketball coach Brad Dickey said he had what he felt like was a good game plan for Saturday night’s home game against Switzerland County.

“Our preparation was very good,” he said following a 45-33 loss in the Bollinger Athletic Complex. “Our kids stuck together the whole time. They helped each other on defense. They were lined up correctly on offense. Then we just never made a layup or made a jump shot.

“It’s heartbreaking because we’re a fun group of people. Starting about 4 ( p.m. Saturday), we were meeting together and talking together and preparing. The guys agreed we were so happy with so many pieces, but our shooting completely failed us in this game.”

Both teams shot 3-for-8 from the floor in the opening period as the Cougars held an 8-6 lead entering the second quarter.

The Cougars missed their first six shots of the second period that allowed the Pacers to take an 18-8 lead. Kade Hill finally got a short jump shot to go in for the Cougars with 25 seconds left in the first half.

Trinity shot 1-for-8 in the second period and trailed 21-10 at the half.

The Cougars went on a 10-2 run over the first 4:30 of the third period, and a 3-point basket by Josh Conrad cut Switzerland County’s lead to 23-18.

The visitors held a 28-20 lead going into the fourth period. A 3-pointer by Sage Broughton cut the Pacers’ lead to 28-23 with 7:35 remaining, and Jacob Sabotin followed with a 3-point play with 6:37 remaining to cut the difference to 29-26.

Switzerland County then went on a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to increase its lead to 39-30 and sealed the win with a layup and four free throws in the final minute.

Broughton topped the Cougars (6-9) with 11 points, and Jacob Williams topped the Pacers (6-9) with 15 points.

The Cougars shot 11-for-43 for the game, while the Pacers were 15-for-33.

Trinity committed nine turnovers, and Switzerland County had seven.

Trinity held a 24-20 advantage in rebounds. Conrad and Sabotin had eight apiece for the Cougars.

“Our cutting wasn’t the best, but it got better, but then the good cuts led to shots that we missed,” Dickey said. “Some of the defensive breakdowns came from us maybe trying to trap or force. That’s not how we wanted to do that. When the little shots didn’t go in, it put us in a difficult position.”

The Cougars are scheduled to host Crothersville on Friday night.

“We’re going to come back Monday and we’re going to try to get better at those short shots and those jump shots, and we’re just going to try to keep growing our program,” Dickey said.