But they were taller than visiting Hubbard in a Division II sectional first-round game Tuesday night.

According to Lakeview coach Ryan Fitch, the Bulldogs also have struggled at the free-throw line at times this season.

But that wasn’t evident either, as the eighth-seeded Bulldogs used a combination of strong defense, rebounding and a 17-for-22 effort at the charity stripe to down the ninth-seeded Eagles, 53-44.

“Before the season, I told our guys that in nearly every game, we’re going to be outsized this year,” said Fitch, whose team moved to 11-12 and plays at top-seeded Chaney in a sectional bracket final on Friday. “So we’ve worked hard on checkouts because we can’t give up two or three shots a possession. Tonight, we did have a size advantage, and I thought the kids did a really good job checking out. That, combined with our free throws, was the difference.

Correspondent photo / Dianna Oatridge — Lakeview’s Nate Fox, right, drives to the hoop as Hubbard’s Chanze Kelley, left, defends during their first round sectional tournament game in Cortland on Tuesday.

“Free throws have been our nemesis the past couple of years, and we have had some bad stretches at times this year. But we did a good job of putting them down tonight.”

Hubbard, which finished 8-15, gave the hosts a test in the teams’ third meeting of the season. The Northeast-8 Conference foes split their regular-season contests, with Lakeview winning 74-59 on Jan. 10 and Hubbard winning 67-57 on Feb. 7.

On Tuesday night, the Eagles trailed 43-39 with 1:43 remaining after Cam Resatar drove down the lane for a bucket. The Eagles forced a quick turnover, but a bad pass gave the ball back to the Bulldogs with 1:22 left. Four points from Nate Fox helped Lakeview move the lead to 47-41 with 46 seconds remaining, but Resatar connected on a 3-pointer 10 seconds later to make it 47-44.

Lakeview went 6-of-8 from the line the rest of the way, and Hubbard didn’t score again as it missed its final three shots, as well as a late one-and-one.

“It was just one of those nights,” Hubbard coach Joe Bornemiss said. “The ball wasn’t going in. We had a lot of clean looks. You give Cam Resatar and Chanze Kelley those looks, and they’ll knock them down more often than not. It just wasn’t there tonight.

“Lakeview also shoots it well, and I thought we played great, great defense on them. For us to hold that team to 53, it was great. Our plan defensively worked well. It just comes back to makes and misses. (Lakeview) made a lot of free throws, especially in the fourth quarter. We didn’t shoot it well from anywhere, really.”

Hubbard was 8-for-15 from the foul line.

The Eagles started well, taking a 9-5 lead, but the Bulldogs scored the last seven points of the first quarter. Hubbard went 5:34 without a point and trailed 17-9 with 5:43 to go before halftime. But Kelley made a pair of 3-pointers during a quick 10-2 spurt as the Eagles pulled within 23-21. Lakeview held a 28-22 halftime lead.

“Playing a team for the third time, they know everything you’re going to do, and we know everything they’re going to do,” said Brendon Kilpatrick, Lakeview’s tallest starter at 6-foot-2. “You just have to execute better and then be able to adjust to anything new that does come along.

“Our team’s not very tall, so we all have to work hard on the boards, and that’s something our coaches stressed all season. We have to do it collectively, and I know I try to help us inside as much as possible. We had good checkouts for the most part.”

The Bulldogs led 39-27 entering the fourth period as Fox made two 3-pointers in the third period, and Ryan Carnahan also buried one from distance.

Fox led the Bulldogs with 16 points, Kilpatrick had 15 in addition to strong work in the paint and Carnahan added 11. Aidan Popovich scored eight points off the bench and made some key plays.

But Fitch knows the Bulldogs will have to be better and more patient against Chaney.

“Chaney is just super athletic,” Fitch said. “We’re going to have to handle pressure really well. They’re super organized, can get up and down the floor, but they take good shots or they back it out and stay patient. Defensively, they’re great defenders, and they run a strong run-and-trap. It’s going to be a real test for us.”

For Hubbard, Kelley finished with 18 points, and Resatar added 15 points to lead Hubbard.

“We have five seniors, including three starters, but filling the shoes of Cam and Chanze will be difficult,” Bornemiss said. “We’re losing some firepower. But for this program this year, I was pleased. We won eight games and were in a bunch more.

“Our young guys got their eyes opened and saw that if you’re not physically strong in Division II, you’re going to struggle. Our j.v. team won 12 games with a bunch of sophomores, so we’re headed in the right direction.”