Staff photo by Ari Selvey Minnesota Valley Lutheran's Luke Merseth (21) goes up for a layup during a Kwik Trip Holiday Tournament boys basketball game against Maple River Saturday at Bethany Lutheran College.

MANKATO — Minnesota Valley Lutheran struggled to contain Maple River as it fell to the Eagles 62-42 in the semifinals round of the Kwik Trip Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

Owen Birkholz and Pierson Brau both had 10 points for the Chargers, while Connor Bode had 7 points.

MVL fell behind 7-0 at the start of the game, but a layup from Luke Merseth and a 3 from Birkholz cut the lead to 7-5. Brau tied the game with a mid-range jumper, but Maple River went on a 13-2 run to go up 20-9 and force an MVL timeout. Maple River continued to outscore the Chargers, going up 29-13 before Eli Schauman stopped the run with a layup. Birkholz added a driving layup, but Maple River still took a 34-19 lead into halftime.

Bode started off the second half with a 3 for the Chargers, which Birkholz added another to cut the lead down to 34-25, but the Eagles responded with a 20-2 run to go up 54-27. Brau broke the streak with a layup, then hit another to put the score at 58-31, but Maple River pulled away again to take a 62-34 lead. MVL was able to close out the game with an 8-0 run, with Ethan Schauland and Trace Gunderson hitting 3s, but Maple River stayed ahead to win 62-42.

MVL (4-2) plays New Ulm in the third place game on Monday.