For just the second time this season, the Hornets felt the sting of defeat.

But Lometa did not go down without a fight.

It took three overtimes and 15 missed free throws on the visitors’ part before Priddy earned the 73- 65 victory on its home floor Tuesday evening. It handed the No. 11 Hornets (21-2, 11-1) their first district loss in the process.

While disappointed, Lometa head coach Wendell Bradley feels the defeat could be beneficial in the long run.

“I always say that it’s not good to win all the time because that becomes the focus, and you start playing not to lose rather than [playing] to win,” the coach said. “There’s a difference. You start worrying about the record and not the opponent.

“I think it will sort of refocus us and maybe make us work a little harder.”

The typically fast-paced Hornets opened the contest by posting just seven points in the first quarter before Brandon Lilly scored eight of his 10 points in the second period to put Lometa up by five, 28-23, at halftime.

Priddy took control after the break, doubling the Hornets’ production (24-12) in the period to take a 47-40 lead in the fourth quarter.

Charlie Wagner (9 pts.), Colt Maldonado (8 pts.), Hector Rivera (18 pts.) and Dalton Parsons (13 pts.) combined to score all 17 of Lometa’s points in the period, but the squad missed eight of its 10 free-throw attempts in the quarter, and the teams went into overtime.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, the trend continued.

Lometa missed three free throws in the first overtime, two in the second and two more in the third extra period to finish the game three of 18 from the line.

While far from shooting a blistering percentage, Priddy connected on 12 of 23 free throws to outscore Lometa at the foul line by nine points in the eight-point win.

“They made their free throws, and we didn’t,” Bradley said.

The Hornets will look to begin another winning streak tonight when they travel to Mullin.

The Lady Hornets also will be in Mullin, where they hope to rebound from a loss to Priddy as well.

Lometa scored just 13 points in the first half and never recovered, falling by 34 points, 68-34, on the road.

Following a five-point secondquarter performance, Maribel Reyes posted seven of her teamhigh 10 points in the third period, but the Lady Hornets simply could not match Priddy’s rapid-fire offense.

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The Hornets’ junior varsity team defeated Priddy 34-27 behind a game-high 13 points from Colt D’Spain.

Martin Jaso added 10 points in the victory as the team improved to 4-1 on the season.