Following a close battle between Wessington Springs and Wall in the first half of Class B boys state basketball tournament action, the third quarter signaled a significant shift.
Heading into halftime, the Spartans scored seven consecutive points. Then came the halftime talk with Coach Joey Mitchell.
“First we talked about the things we need to clean up, mainly transition defense. We knew going into the match, that was going to be a crucial thing,” Mitchell said. “Watching film and thinking they’re fast, then going out there is a whole different thing. We had to adjust to the speed of how fast they are.”
Second and third, Coach Mitchell addressed offense and rebounding.
“For us on the backside, we never really ran any offense until the last part of the second quarter. Then the ball was moving better and guys were going to the rack,” Mitchell explained, “We were even with them when it came to rebounding, then second half, we tore them up. We cleaned up all three things we talked about going in.”
Finally, Mitchell addressed confidence, and the reality of the role nerves play when stepping onto the state tournament stage.
“What hit home with them was when I said they looked a little scared. They were here before but weren’t here getting ball-pressured, with the stands packed,” said Mitchell. “I told them, it’s going to take you a few minutes to get over the nerves and get into the basketball flow. I reminded them that’s part of the game and we do the skill work every single day in practice. Once they settled in, they started clicking.”
The Spartans outscored Wall 24-11 in the third quarter. Following a 7-0 scoring run early in the third quarter, Springs captured a larger 13-0 run over the final three minutes of the period to take a 20-point lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, with 2:30 remaining in the period, the Spartans had extended the lead to 74-42 — then Wessington Springs emptied the bench.
“The guys like Karter, Wesley, Sam, Luke, and Branden — they tease the other guys, saying after one game they already got more playing time than all of them combined last year at state,” Mitchell laughed. "I told the bench at the four-minute mark, I’m putting you in. That’s how you move on and get experience — it pays dividends in the long run. I call it baiting the hook. Get them hungry to work hard and get back here again.”
When it was all said and done, Wessington Springs claimed a 74-52 victory in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Colby Flowers finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, Karter Mebius notched 20 points for the game and Ryder Michalek added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Wessington Springs (22-2) advances to the Class B semifinals to take on Castlewood at 6 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2025 at the Barnett Center.
“This is what you dream about. If you want to be the big dog you have to take out the big dog. In the semifinal round, it’s going to come down to some guts, some heart, and keeping the game clean,” Mitchell said. “I never rule these kids out. We do a lot of work everyday and we will give it our best shot.”