By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ basketball team dropped its fourth game of the season after posting a pair of victories over the weekend.The Cardinals bested Redwood Valley by eight points in Luverne Friday before besting West Central by five points in Hartford, S.D., Saturday. State-ranked Russell-Tyler-Ruthton ended Luverne’s run of four straight wins by toppling the Cards by 13 points in Tyler Tuesday.Luverne, 14-4 overall, hosts Windom for a key section game Friday. The Cards play Central Lyon in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Tuesday.R-T-R 63, Luverne 50The Cardinals were in position to knock off the Knights before succumbing to the two-time defending state champions in Tyler Tuesday.With Derek Boeve netting all 15 of his points in the first half to lead the way, Luverne sported a 26-24 advantage over R-T-R at the intermission.R-T-R, however, rallied to outscore LHS 39-24 in the second half to win by 13."We were able to slow things down in the first half with our zone defense and controlling the tempo on offense. They adjusted to our zone in the second half, and we didn’t make enough shots to stay with them," said LHS coach Tom Rops.Marc Boelman netted 11 points for LHS. Nick Heronimus and Tim Miller snared four rebounds each.Box scoreMiller 1 0 0-0 2, Ward 1 0 0-0 2, Boelman 4 0 3-5 11, Hendricks 3 0 0-0 6, Boeve 2 2 5-5 15, DeBoer 1 0 1-2 3, Heronimus 2 1 0-0 7, Haakenson 0 0 1-2 1, Uphoff 0 0 2-2 2, Sawtelle 0 0 2-2 2.Team statisticsLuverne: 17 of 61 field goals (28 percent), 15 of 18 free throws (83 percent), 22 rebounds, three turnovers.R-T-R: 24 of 54 field goals (44 percent), 15 of 19 free throws (78 percent), 32 rebounds, seven turnovers.Luverne 54, WC 49Some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch carried the Cardinals to their fourth straight win Saturday in Hartford, S.D.After struggling from the stripe (seven of 23) in the first three quarters of play, Luverne canned eight of nine charity shots in the final eight minutes of play to secure a five-point victory.The game was tight most of the way with LHS sporting 14-10, 24-23 and 38-36 at the first three quarter breaks.With Heronimus sinking six straight free throws and Jake Hendricks making two of three in the fourth quarter, the Cards outscored the hosts 16-13 in the final eight minutes to help lock up the victory."We really played an up-and-down game," said LHS coach Rops. "It was nice to see Nick and Jake step up in the fourth quarter and make some free throws when we needed them most."Boeve led the Cards with 17 points in the game. Hendricks scored 14 points and passed for three assists. Heronimus scored 10 points and latched onto eight rebounds.Box scoreBoelman 2 0 1-6 5, Miller 1 2 0-3 8, Hendricks 3 1 5-7 14, Boeve 4 2 3-7 17, Heronimus 2 0 6-8 10, DeBoer 0 0 0-2 0.Team statisticsLuverne: 17 of 49 field goals (35 percent), 15 of 33 free throws (45 percent), 23 rebounds, 16 turnovers.WC: 21 of 66 field goals (32 percent), three of four free throws (75 percent), 27 rebounds, 10 turnovers.Luverne 60, RWV 52The Cardinals overcame some tense moments late in the game to sweep the season series with Redwood Valley Friday in Luverne.After LHS opened a 37-22 lead when Boeve drained a three-point shot with 13:22 remaining in the second half, the Cards found themselves in a fight when RWV went on a 26-13 run to trail by two points (50-48) with 3:34 left to play.Hendricks stemmed the tide by converting a three-point play to make it a 53-48 game with 2:46 left, and the Cards received three free throws from Hendricks and two each from Boeve and Heronimus in the final minutes to win by eight.Both teams put together surges during a competitive first half.After falling behind early, the Cards led 13-5 when Jake Clark converted a free throw at the 12:48 mark.RWV trimmed the difference to three points (20-17) with 6:29 left to play before Luverne ended the half with a 6-0 spurt that ended with Heronimus converting a field goal with 26 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 26-17 cushion.Heronimus scored 11 first-half points and led the Cards with 17 counters. Boelman scored 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds and charted three assists. Hendricks and Boeve chipped in 14 and 10 points respectively.Box scoreHaakenson 0 0 0-0 0, Boelman 7 0 1-2 15, Miller 0 1 0-0 3, Hendricks 2 2 4-5 14, Clark 0 0 1-2 1, Boeve 2 1 3-9 10, DeBoer 0 0 0-0 0, Heronimus 6 0 5-9 17.Team statisticsLuverne: 21 of 44 field goals (48 percent), 14 of 27 free throws (52 percent), 19 rebounds, 10 turnovers.RWV: 21 of 59 field goals (36 percent), eight of 13 free throws (62 percent), 23 rebounds, nine turnovers.