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The Dogs led 12-11 after one quarter, and the game was still tight until ACGC made four three-pointers right before halftime, according to coach Phil Carlson. That flurry helped ACGC score 23 points in the second quarter and take a 34-25 lead at the half.

"We tried hard to make up for this, but fell short," said Carlson.

The Falcons ended up winning by nine points, which is the exact margin that they outscored the Dogs from three-point land, making seven treys to four for Paynesville.

ACGC increased their lead by outscoring the Dogs 21-18 in the third quarter, while Paynesville cut into their lead in the final quarter, outscoring the visiting Falcons 17-14 to make the final tally 69-60.

Sophomore Cory Nietfeld led the Bulldogs with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Junior Aaron Braun added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Dogs.

Junior guard Trent Hansen also reached double digits in scoring with 10 points, including two three-pointers.

Carlson said the whole team played well, and especially noted that seniors A.J. Benson and Atanas Pastarmadzhiev did a nice job off the bench spelling the guards.

"Our guys are playing tough, and we are seeing some of our best basketball. It's tournament time, and this will keep us in the hunt to knock off some top-seeded teams," said Carlson.

The Dogs were seeded seventh in District 20 and will play in the district quarterfinals on Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. at NL-S. The Wildcats, co-champions of the WCC South, are seeded second in District 20. Full District 20 seedings are: (1) Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted; (2) New London-Spicer; (3) Annandale; (4) Eden Valley-Watkins; (5) St. Cloud Cathedral; (6) Maple Lake; (7) Paynesville; and (8) Kimball.

If the Dogs upset NL-S on Thursday, they would advance to the district semifinals against either Annandale or Maple Lake on Saturday, March 5, at 4 p.m. at Dassel-Cokato High School.

Also this week, the Dogs hosted Holdingford on Tuesday in their last regular season game, trying to break a 16-game losing streak against the Huskers.

ACGC--	11	23	21	14	- 69
Paynesville--	12	13	18	17	- 60

SCORING: (FG-FT/FTA-PTS)
ACGC 69 - Nick Hutchinson 9-4/5-24; Ben Nelson 8-0/2-16; Ryan Walsh 3-0/0-9; Michael Malvin 3-1/2-8; Justin Schroeder 2-0/1-5; Micah Nordin 2-0/0-4; Lucas Pickle 1-1/2-3; TOTALS: FG 28, FT 6/12, 3's 7.

Paynesville 60 - Cory Nietfeld 8-7/11-23; Aaron Braun 5-5/7-15; Trent Hansen 4-0/0-10; Mark Andrie 1-2/4-5; Ben Moser 1-0/0-3; A.J. Benson 1-0/0-2; Mike Houske 1-0/0-2; TOTALS: FG 21, FT 14/22, 3's 4.

STATISTICS: 3-pointers - 4 Hansen 2; Andrie 1; Moser 1; Rebounds - 37 Nietfeld 15; Braun 10; Assists - 13 Andrie 4; Nietfeld 4; Hansen 3; Steals - 6 Braun 2; Nietfeld 2; Blocks - 5 Braun 2; Moser 2.

Albany 70, Paynesville 60
The Albany Huskies outscored the Bulldogs 40-27 in the second half, erasing a three-point halftime lead for the Bulldogs and sweeping their season series with the Dogs.

The loss, in fact, ended a winless conference schedule for the Dogs, who finished 0-10 in the WCC North.

The Bulldogs built a 33-30 first-half lead against the Huskies on Thursday night in Albany, getting fairly balanced scoring with sophomore Cory Nietfeld netting 12 points and junior Mark Andrie adding eight.

In the second half, Nietfeld scored 17 points for Paynesville, but Albany held the rest of the Dogs to ten points in the second half.

"We came out strong and played this way," said Carlson. "We led at halftime by three and ended up trailing by three after the third. In the end, we found ourselves in need to foul them, and they made the free throws."

Albany also came from behind to beat the Dogs in Paynesville in January.

Nietfeld led the Dogs with a career high of 29 points. Andrie added 10 points for the Dogs.

Paynesville--	16	17	11	16	- 60
Albany--	13	17	17	23	- 70

SCORING: (FG-FT/FTA-PTS)
Paynesville 60 - Cory Nietfeld 11-7/8-29; Mark Andrie 4-2/2-10; Ben Moser 3-1/3-8; Trent Hansen 2-2/2-6; Aaron Braun 2-0/3-4; Mike Houske 1-0/0-2; Atanas Pastarmadzhiev 0-1/2-1; TOTALS: FG 23, FT 13/20, 3's 1.

Albany 70 - Ricky Hendrickson 6-4/4-20; Josh Wolford 5-2/2-13; Josh Overman 4-1/1-9; Bryce Rushmeyer 3-2/7-8; Greg Dingman 3-0/0-6; Nick Richards 2-0/0-4; Trent Dirkes 1-1/2-3; Tom Hanson 1-1/1-3; Eric Harlander 0-2/2-2; Cameron Stromme 1-0/0-2; TOTALS: FG 26, FT 13/19, 3's 5.

STATISTICS: 3-pointers - 1 Moser 1; Rebounds - 31 Nietfeld 13; Moser 8; Braun 5; Assists - 10 Nietfeld 3; Steals - 12 Hansen 5; Andrie 4; Nietfeld 2; Blocks - 6 Harrison Fangmeier 2; Nietfeld 2.