The Hampton Roads Academy boys’ basketball team handed visiting Nansemond-Suffolk Academy its third loss in a row, this time via a lopsided 75-49 margin on Friday. The defeat gave the Saints an 0-1 start to their official conference schedule this season.

“We got really out-worked tonight,” NSA coach Chris Prince said, adding it was a “disappointing game for us, to say the least.”

The Navigators faced the Saints earlier this season at NSA, beating their hosts by a more modest 56-44 margin.

“I thought that we would compete better than what we did tonight,” Prince said, as the game featured a snowball effect of things a team cannot afford to do if it wants to win ballgames.

Nansemond-Suffolk did not move properly to be effective on defense, it turned the ball over and it did not rebound well, Prince noted.

Down by 16 points at halftime, the Saints were able to cut the deficit to single digits, but then HRA would go on a run.

“We couldn’t stop the runs,” Prince said.

Despite the loss, senior C.J. Patterson was a bright spot for Nansemond-Suffolk, returning to form as one of his team’s biggest offensive threats. He produced 20 points.

“He had a lot of effort and energy in the second half,” Prince said.

Saints junior Logan Lokie had 11 points, most of them coming on the perimeter.

On Monday, NSA wrapped its stretch of four games within a week’s time by recording a 49-47 loss in Richmond to Collegiate School.

Prince said his team rallied in the fourth quarter and had an eight-point deficit down to two with eight seconds remaining. The Saints fired off a three-point attempt at the buzzer, but it failed to find the bottom of the net.

Nansemond-Suffolk also fell 68-50 on Jan. 10 against visiting Portsmouth Christian School.

“We were 2-2 in the four-game stretch,” Prince said. “Now we’ve got two big games next week, really tough opponents.”

The Saints (5-8, 0-1) host Norfolk Collegiate School on Tuesday and visit Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School on Thursday as the official Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools schedule continues.

NSA’s non-conference home game against Hampton Christian Academy on Saturday could represent another stiff challenge.