Veritas Christian’s boys basketball team recovered from a slow start, but could not survive a rough second half against Topeka Cair Paravel, losing 59-54, Saturday at Tecumseh Gym.

Cair Paravel double-teamed Mark Randtke near the basket, and coach Doug Bennett said his team struggled to replace his presence with outside shooting.

“They did a good job of defending Mark with guys who were a bit smaller,” Bennett said. “We do have other options, we just didn’t see them tonight because their shots weren’t falling.”

Shooting was disastrous for the Eagles early — Veritas shot just 26 percent from the floor in the first half, a stat that was even worse before the Eagles erased an 11-point deficit by halftime.

Cair Paravel contributed to Veritas’ surge just before the half with sloppy turnovers — 11 in the first half alone.

Both teams took better care of the ball in the second half as they volleyed the lead back-and-forth for much of the third quarter.

Veritas stayed with Cair Paravel as long as Randtke could fight his way past the defense for easy layups. He sparked Veritas’ offense in the third quarter with four points as well as opening up opportunities for his teammates near the basket.

But it wouldn’t last long. Cair Paravel returned to its stifling double-team on Randtke.

Cair Paravel coach Calvin Sprew said he changed defenses in the third quarter, which allowed Veritas to hang around.

Veritas' Mark Randtke, right, goes up for a shot over Topeka Cair Paravel's Kyle Williams. The Eagles lost, 59-54, Saturday at Haskell's Tecumseh Gym.

“That didn’t work, so we went back to the box-one,” Sprew said. “The big kid got his points, but he didn’t get what we expected him to get.”

Randtke finished with 13 points, but scored only three in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Veritas’ Casey Woods came alive in the fourth quarter after struggling all night from outside. He missed all eight of his three-point shots before he finally knocked one down to bring Veritas within two.

Veritas Christian's Casey Woods, right, fights for a loose ball with Topeka Cair Paravel's Gabe Letch. The Eagles lost, 59-54, Saturday at Haskell Indian Nations University's Tecumseh Gym.

Veritas then tied it at 51 when Paul Kempf knocked the ball away from Gabe Letch on the ensuing rebound and cruised to an easy layup.

Cair Paravel’s Adam Aadalen was fouled quickly thereafter and made one of his two free throws. But Veritas missed a crucial rebound when Aadalen missed his second shot, and Aadalen put the ball in to increase his team’s lead to three.

From there, Veritas couldn’t make its shots and kept sending Cair Paravel to the free-throw line.