After breaking a three-game losing streak last week with a 50-43 win over Fox in the Seckman Holiday Invitational, the Mehlville Senior High School boys’ basketball team dropped two frustrating games to Summit (43-39) and Francis Howell North (58-47).

“This was a disappointing tournament for our guys,” Mehlville head coach Andy Guethle told the Call. “We wanted to go down there and win it and we ended up fourth.”

The Panthers’ (4-6, 0-1 Suburban West) loss to Howell North in the third-place game was frustrating as Mehlville hit just 11 of 19 — 57.9 percent — from the free-throw line after taking a commanding 14-6 lead after the first quarter of play.

Mehlville held on to a 19-17 lead at halftime before giving up 41 points in the second half.

“We missed a lot of free throws early on,” Guethle said. “We got up on Fox by 15 or 20 in the first half and then let them back in the game. The same thing happened against Summit and Howell North.”

Senior David Williams scored 11 points and five rebounds in the loss to Francis Howell North. Mehlville’s starting forward also recorded one steal and one blocked shot.

“We know that David wishes that he could play better,” Guethle said. “He just needs to keep working hard out there.”

Mehlville’s Adam DuBuque also scored in double figures with a 10-point performance that included four rebounds. The senior guard added to his double-figure effort with two steals and two assists.

“Adam had to guard their best player (Evan Thornhill) and kept him to 12 points,” Guethle said. “Defensively, he does a nice job. But offensively, he’s got to help us finish teams off late in the game.”

The Panthers return to action Friday when they play host to Fox in a key Suburban West Conference game for both schools. Fox (2-10, 0-2 Suburban West) is looking to move out of the cellar in the conference, and the Warriors are looking forward to having another crack at the Panthers.

“They (Fox) play really hard and they don’t back down,” Guethle said. “We’ve got to match their intensity and we’ve got to do the fundamentals and limit them to one shot (per possession).”

Mehlville’s home game against Fox is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.