With a 24-20 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Cary boys’ basketball team looked as if it was going to outrun Ragsdale in the first round of The Cary News Holiday Invitational on Thursday at Cary Academy.

The problem: the Imps wound up scoring only 26 more points in the final three quarters, and Ragsdale outlasted Cary 67-50 and advanced in the winner’s bracket.

Whether it was fatigue from five days off for Christmas break, or not converting easy baskets, Cary simply “couldn’t hang” with Ragsdale, said Imps senior point guard Taylor Payne.

“It was a lot closer than the score reflected,” Payne said. “At the end of the first quarter it was a four-point game, but they pulled away, and we couldn’t hang with them. We started off at a fast pace, but we just couldn’t hang with them the whole game.”

Though Cary displayed effective full-court pressure that converted to transition points in the first quarter, the Imps were outscored 21-9 in the second. Ragsdale used the fast paced tempo in its favor, converting off of Cary turnovers and cruising to a 41-33 halftime lead.

Ragsdale sophomore forward Jay Canty alone matched Cary’s offensive production in the second quarter, mostly on the fast break.

“In the second quarter, we turned the ball over,” Cary coach Allan Gustafson said. “We had 10 turnovers in the first half and two in the second. So we did a better job in the second half of taking care of the ball than in the first half, but there was really a bad stretch in the second quarter.”

The tempo changed in the second half, Gustafson said, when it slowed to a half court game. Though the Imps had multiple chances to make a run, missed opportunities prevented them from mounting a comeback.

“It was a 12-point game, and we missed four layups and two free throws,” Payne said. “It could have been a four- or six-point game if we had finished our shots.”

Gustafson echoed the concern that the slower tempo and missed opportunities made the difference in the second half.

“The game really slowed down, and the bottom line is you have to put the ball in the basket and we didn’t put the ball in the basket,” Gustafson said. “We want to play at a faster tempo. I think we’re more comfortable at a faster tempo. But it takes two to tango, and you’re going to have to have the other team willing to do that. The game really slowed down in the second half, and we couldn’t get the tempo going again because we just missed a lot of makeable shots under the basket.”

Despite the loss, facing a long and athletic opponent in Ragsdale has helped prepare Cary for the athletic Tri-Eight teams awaiting the Imps after the break, Payne said.

“I think playing Ragsdale is a good warm-up for the conference because a lot of teams in the conference are like Ragsdale in that they are a lot bigger than us, stronger, [and] faster,” Payne said.

As for the fatigue factor, things won’t get easier on the Imps. They had consolation round games Friday and Saturday before returning to conference play this week.

“I don’t know if fatigue played a part because we haven’t done anything in six days,” Gustafson said. “But I thought we held our own out there physically, and that’s a good thing.”