ANKENY - The Linn-Mar Lions staged a furious fourth-quarter rally Tuesday night but fell a point short in a 78-77 loss at Ankeny.

The Lions trailed by 12 points, 62-50, after three quarters before nearly pulling out the victory by scoring 27 points in the fourth period.

Lane Halupnik hit 15 of 18 free throws and scored a career-high 28 points for Linn-Mar (6-6). He also grabbed nine rebounds. Riley Murphy and Jon Schlotterback added 12 points apiece for the Lions.

Jordan Bohannon, Linn-Mar's leading scorer, was held to seven points. Nic Uhler, the team's No.2 scorer, did not play.

Jordan Saddoris scored 21 points as Ankeny raised its record to 3-10. The hosts were 10 of 18 on 3-pointers.

LINN-MAR (77): Murphy 3 3-4 12, Noble 0 0-0 0, Brennecker 1 0-0 2, Bohannon 3 1-2 7, Larson 2 0-0 4, Schlotterback 4 4-6 12, Halupnik 6 15-18 28, Eby 1 0-0 3, Schmidt 1 0-3 2, Brandt 1 4-5 7. Totals 22 27-38 77.

ANKENY (78): Morrissey 1 1-2 4, Walker 3 1-2 8, Hanna 1 0-0 3, Whitaker 5 4-6 16, Riordan 3 8-10 15, Walljasper 0 0-0 0, McCoy 4 1-1 11, Scott 0 0-0 0, Saddoris 7 5-7 21. Totals 24 20-28 78.

Halftime - Ankeny 37, Linn-Mar 35. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 6 (Murphy 3, Halupnik 1, Eby 1, Brandt 1), Ankeny 10 (Morrissey 1, Walker 1, Hanna 1, Whitaker 2, Riordan 1, McCoy 2, Saddoris 2).