By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys basketball team broke even when playing a pair of road games late last week.The Cardinals notched a 12-point win against Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Thursday before falling by one point in Redwood Falls Friday.Luverne, 12-6 overall, plays in Windom Friday before hosting West Central Saturday.RWV 42, Luverne 41A surge in the final minute by host Redwood Valley led to a one-point loss for the Luverne Cardinals Friday in Redwood Falls.Luverne led 41-38 and possessed the ball with 38 seconds left to play when a pair of crucial turnovers burned the Cardinals. RWV turned both turnovers into baskets, including what proved to be the game-winning field goal with seven seconds remaining, to steal a victory."It was a close game that came down to the final three or four possessions," said LHS coach Tom Rops. "Unfortunately, we didn’t make the plays when we needed to. We did everything right to be in a position to win the game. We just had some bad luck in the final minute."Luverne, which sported leads at the first three quarter breaks, received a 14-point effort from John Tofteland. Brandon Deragisch scored 10 points, nabbed five rebounds and charted four steals for the Cards. Jake Hendricks passed for three assists.Box scorePick 1 0 3-4 5, Herman 2 0 0-0 4, Deragisch 1 2 2-3 10, Antoine 1 0 0-0 2, Tofteland 3 2 2-3 14, Hendricks 0 1 2-2 5, Heronimus 0 0 1-4 1.Team statisticsLuverne: 14 of 31 field goals (45 percent), 10 of 15 free throws (67 percent), 17 rebounds, 18 turnovers.RWV: 19 of 35 field goals (54 percent), 24 rebounds, 13 turnovers.Luverne 72, LH 60A strong defensive effort and a decisive advantage at the free-throw line gave the Cardinals a 12-point win over Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Thursday.Luverne forced the Rebels to turn the ball over 20 times in the game and outscored LH 23-8 at the charity stripe as the Cards picked up their 12th win."We were in control of the game for the most part, but LH never gave up," said LHS coach Rops. "Getting to the free-throw line and causing the turnovers we did were the keys."With Deragisch scoring 20 of his team-high 22 points and Tofteland adding 10 of his 17 points in the first half, Luverne opened a 42-26 halftime cushion. LH trimmed the difference to 11 points (56-45) by the end of the third quarter before falling by 12 points at game’s end.Deragisch led the Cards with seven rebounds and five steals.Box scorePick 4 0 1-4 9, Herman 4 0 0-2 8, Deragisch 4 1 11-14 22, Antoine 1 0 4-8 6, Tofteland 4 2 3-5 17, Haakenson 0 1 0-0 3, Hendricks 0 1 3-4 6, Heronimus 0 0 1-2 1.Team statisticsLuverne: 21 of 42 field goals (50 percent), 23 of 38 free throws (61 percent), 29 rebounds, seven turnovers.LH: 22 of 35 field goals (63 percent), eight of 17 free throws (47 percent), 22 rebounds, 20 turnovers.