For a half, Eisenhower was rolling toward sole possession of second place in Region 3 boys basketball.
After a second half, the Knights found themselves in a tie for that coveted spot.
Visiting Linesville erased a seven-point halftime deficit and handed the Knights their second straight region loss with a 54-47 victory Saturday afternoon at Eisenhower High School.
"I feel like we didn't match the intensity of the other team," said Eisenhower assistant coach Jacoby Curtis. "Especially in the second half, they were beating us to loose balls and handling us on the boards. They played a more physical game and were able to come back on us."
Trying to rebound from a loss to region-leading Cochranton on Tuesday, the Knights played well in the opening stanza, building a 13-8 lead. While the Lions had more success offensively in the second quarter, Eisenhower still managed to push its lead to seven at 29-22.
In the third quarter, the Lions began to show a change in attitude. The Knights were unable to match that intensity and the score slowly began to reflect the change.
Fact Box
LINESVILLE (54): Schaef 5 2-6 12, Gallo 1 0-0 3, Brown 1 0-0 2, Uplinger 9 2-4 20, Merritt 1 0-0 2, Martini 6 1-4 13, Onderko 0 2-4 2, Totals: 23 7-18 54
EISENHOWER (47): Josh Deppas 5 2-4 12, Aaron Lundmark 1 2-4 4, Colin Shine 5 1-2 12, Nathan O'Brien 3 3-6 9, Andrew Onoratti 0 0-0 0, Ryan Williams 3 0-2 6, Joe Rutsky 1 2-2 4, Totals: 18 10-20 47
Linesville 8 14 14 18 - 54
Eisenhower 13 16 11 7 - 47
3-pointers: L- Gallo; E- Shine
By the end of the third, Eisenhower's lead had dropped to four points and the fourth quarter was completely dominated by the visitors. All told, Linesville had a commanding 18-7 advantage in the final quarter of the game.
Josh Deppas and Colin Shine did what they could do offensively to help the Knights (8-7, 2-2). Deppas scored 12 points and Shine added 12 of his own. Nathan O'Brien finished with nine points, Ryan Williams scored six points and Joe Rutsky and Aaron Lundmark finished with four points each.
Noah Uplinger paced the Linesville effort with 20 points and Stephan Martini chipped in 13 points.
No junior varsity game was played.
The Knights will try to get back on the winning track Thursday when they travel to Maplewood.