Struggles from the free throw line and a deep second-quarter hole doomed the Nobles boys basketball team Wednesday against St. Paul's (Concord, N.H.) as they fell to 1-2 with a 48-36 loss on the road.

The Bulldogs were coming off their first win of the season at home against Portsmouth Abbey.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs quickly found themselves in a defensive battle early, and in front 12-11 with 3:40 to go in the first quarter.

However, St. Paul's two 6-foot-5-inch big men began to clog the middle and scored several easy baskets after offensive rebounds to help their team go on a 14-0 run to close the half.

"We played great defense 75 percent of the game it just was the 25 percent that we didn't, that cost us the game… and we aren't going to shut everybody out," coach Michael Herring said in a phone interview Thursday.

Nobles cut into St. Paul's lead in the third quarter, knocking the deficit to 7 points with a chance to cut it to 5 with a one-and-one situation at the free throw line.

The Bulldogs missed the front end, and their woes at the line continued for the rest of the night. The Bulldogs finished 12-25 at the charity stripe.

St. Paul's finished off the Bulldogs with some strong guard play.

"We are struggling to get the ball in the hole," coach Herring said.

The Bulldogs have yet to score 40 points in any of their first three games this season.

Brian Edgerly was the one exception, as he hit on four shots from long distance and finishing the night with 14 points.

"We executed the offense effectively," added the coach. The Bulldogs just "couldn't convert."

Senior captain Phil Hession added 5 points, while big man Michael Mussafer added 7.

Underclassmen Connor Costello and Timmy Demirjian added strong minutes for the Bulldogs, with Demirjian contributing 2 points, Herring said.

The Bulldogs will host Belmont Hill at 2 p.m. start at home on Saturday.

Nobles Sports Scoreboard

Girls Basketball

Tabor 62, Nobles 29

Girls Squash

Nobles 7, Moses Brown 0

Wrestling

Nobles 57, Landmark 18