St. Aloysius’ best basketball season in half a century came to an end Tuesday night.

Clayton Malone dropped in 26 points, and Will-Lawson Harkins added 19 as Leake Academy routed the Flashes 77-55 in the first round of the MAIS Class AAA boys state tournament.

St. Al finished with a 17-11 record and reached the state tournament for the first time since 1970. It struggled to gain traction, however, against tournament host Leake Academy.

Harkins scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half as the Rebels built a 36-27 halftime lead. St. Al made a charge in the third quarter as Braxton Chewning hit three 3-pointers, but Leake put up 25 points to not only keep the Flashes at bay but extend its lead to double digits.

St. Al then fell flat in the fourth quarter, scoring just nine points as the game got out of hand.

Chewning led St. Al with 18 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half. Alvin Brown added 16 points, 10 of them in the first half, and Trinye Brown scored seven. The Flashes only attempted 10 free throws and made five.

Chewning and Alvin Brown combined to score 15 of St. Al’s 19 points in the third quarter.

Daniel Young and Matt Clair added 11 points apiece and Sam Wilder finished with eight for Leake Academy, which will play either Hillcrest Christian or Indianola Academy in the second round on Friday night.

In another first-round game Tuesday, Heritage Academy eliminated Bowling Green with a 50-27 victory.