The United South Central boys’ basketball team’s season came to an end on Thursday with a 73-71 loss to Maple River at Minnesota State-Mankato University.

In the first half, Maple River took a 16-point lead, but USC cut its decficit to four points at halftime, Rebels head coach Rob Stevermer said.

In the second half, Maple River led by as many as eight points, but USC attempted a late rally.

“We battled back, Stevermer said. “We also made our free throws and had four guys score in double figures: Steve Voigt, Cole Stencel, Trey Allis and Nate Pederson.”

The Rebels trimmed the Eagles’ lead to two points with three seconds left. However, USC was out of timeouts and Maple River ran out the clock without inbounding the ball, Stevermer said.

Three seniors depart for the Rebels: Stencel, Allis and Colin Becher.

“They’ve been a part of a lot of wins,” Stevermer said. “They’ve worked hard and that’s paid off with success.”

USC won its subsection last year and was the Gopher Conference co-champ with Waterville-Elysian-Morristown this year.

The Rebels were 18-10 overall, 12-2 in the Gopher Conference and 6-5 in Section 2AA-South.