After struggling in the opening round on Thursday, the Waubay-Summit Mustangs wanted to send a message on Friday.

The Mustangs led from start to finish on the way to a 56-42 consolation round victory during the State B Boys’ Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.

“(Thursday’s) game wasn’t a complete indication of what our team is made of. The state didn’t really get to see who we were,” said Waubay-Summit coach Mark Amdahl of a lopsided loss to De Smet. “Today we had a chip on our shoulder. We felt we had something to prove.”

The Mustangs made three three-point field goals to set the tone early and played with a double-digit lead from the second-quarter on to avenge a regular-season setback to the Knights.

For the second straight game, Christian fell behind early and was forced to play catch up.

“We dug ourselves a deep hole and then it’s tough because they’re very sound defensively,” said Christian coach David Rohrbach. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They do a good job of keeping you in front of them.”

Waubay-Summit eventually built a 20-point advantage in the third period before the Knights mounted a serious run.

Christian scored nine unanswered points, four from Jackson Isakson and three from Andrew Brennan to slice the deficit to 42-31 late in the third. The Knights appeared to be gaining some momentum and forced Waubay-Summit deep into the shot clock before Jackson Wohlleber hit the first of two huge shots to close out the period.

Wohlleber drove the baseline and put in a reverse layup just before the shot clock expired.

“They were coming at us. They threw a punch. They were making a big run,” Wohelleber said. “The ball just ended up in my hands.”

The sophomore said he didn’t know how much time was left on the shot clock.

“A kid came and tried blocking me from the one side and I went around under,” Wohlleber said.

After the teams traded a pair of empty possessions, Wohlleber connected on another back-breaker, this time hitting a floater along the baseline just before the horn sounded to end the period.

“I just drove down the baseline,” Wohlleber said. “They came at me. I just went underneath and hit a floater.”

Whatever momentum Christian was starting to generate was quickly gone and the Mustangs were never in trouble after that.

“It was unfortunate. We were making a run,” Rohrbach said. “We had it as close as we had had it in a while, shot clock down and got the ball out of their better player’s hands, which we want it out of their hands, and then he makes a couple of nice shots and got the momentum right back.”

There was little doubt about where those two shots ranked in Wohlleber’s young high school career to date.

“We just talked in the locker room, that was the biggest four points of his career and it came an at opportune time,” Amdahl said. “That’s what this team is about. Everyone steps up when we need them. It was a total team effort today. I’m so proud that Jackson got that opportunity and he seized it.”

Brennan finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the Knights. Ethan Russell added 11 points.

Christian rallied from a much smaller deficit in their first meeting against the Mustangs thanks to some clutch three-point shooting down the stretch. However, that was not the case in the rematch.

“We struggled to make a run. Our three-pointing shooting just wasn’t there like it was,” Rohrbach said. “We really feed off the energy from hitting outside shots. We have all season and we didn’t hit them as much today.”

Jonathan Johnston topped Waubay-Summit with 15 points. Damon Opdahl and Seth Gaikowski each contributed 12, and Wohlleber finished with nine.

Amdahl praised his team’s defensive effort during the contest.

“Our defense set the tone,” he said. “Defense, that’s what wins. That’s what did it today.”

Waubay-Summit (21-4) meets Castlewood for fifth place at 1:45 this afternoon. Amdahl is excited about the opportunity.

“The fifth place trophy I think is the second best trophy in the tournament,” Amdahl said. “That means you won two games. That means you won your last game. … “We’re happy for the opportunity and we’re going to give it our all.”

The Knights (20-5) will take on Freeman Academy-Marion in the seventh place game at noon.

“It’s the last game of the year. We have nothing else to play for other than what’s right before us,” Rohrbach said. “Just make sure we keep in mind that it’s still great to be at state. You’re one of eight. Just make sure that you want to go out with a win. That just has to be the focus, the mentality is to go out giving your best effort and hopefully go out with a positive note.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (20-5): Andrew Brennan 4 2-2 12, Jackson Isakson 2 0-0 4, Ethan Russell 4 1-2 11, Malek Wieker 2 0-2 5, Kaden Clark 1 0-0 2, Abe Holscher 1 1-1 3, Garrett Pearson 0 1-3 1, Blake Rich 2 0-0 4. Totals 16-42 5-10 42.

WAUBAY-SUMMIT (21-4): J Gulbraa 2 0-0 4, Jackson Wohlleber 4 1-2 9, Damon Opdahl 4 0-0 12, Seth Gaikowski 4 1-2 12, Jonathan Johnston 7 0-2 15, Sonny Marquart 2 0-2 4. Totals 23-48 2-8 56.

Aberdeen Christian 10 18 31 42

Waubay-Summit 20 36 46 56

3-point field goals – Brennan 2, Russell 2, Wieker; Opdahl 4, Gaikowski 3, Johnston. Fouled out – Isakson. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 12; Waubay-Summit 10. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 25 (Brennan 6, Isakson 5); Waubay-Summit 32 (Gulbraa 9). Assists – Aberdeen Christian 7 (Brennan 4); Waubay-Summit 18 (Opdahl 6, Gulbraa 4, Gaikowski 4). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 6; Waubay-Summit 8 (Opdahl 3).