Wall gained a measure of revenge during the Class B State Boys’ Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon.

The Eagles overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat Lyman 59-55 in consolation round action at Wachs Arena. The win avenged a three-point setback to the Raiders during the regular season.

The first time the two faced each other in February, both were without key players.

“We knew what to expect. They were a good squad the first time we played them, but they were without (Dawsen) Volmer,” said Wall coach Ryan Kjerstad. “We were without Dawson (Handcock), so we were both without a player.”

In the first half of the rematch, Wall didn’t have an answer for Volmer who scored eight points in the opening quarter and seven more in the second. He made all seven of his shots from the floor.

“I just wanted to do anything I could to help my team win,” said Volmer. “Coming into a game like this, main thing that fuels me is just winning, so that was the thing I could do to help the team do that.”

The Eagles held a slim 12-10 lead going into the second quarter, but Lyman went on a 14-point run before Wall eventually scored the 4:22 mark of the period. At that point, Lyman had a 10-point lead and eventually extended it to 13 going into halftime.

“The ball just went in. And sometimes it does and that was part of that run, no doubt,” said Raiders coach Cooper Garnos. “We had a bunch of shots that we made in a row, and they were off a little.”

Wall was out of rhythm in that second quarter and the Eagles knew they needed to make a change heading into the second half.

“We were just playing the game they wanted us to play. They were speeding us up and making us shoot shots we wouldn’t normally take,” said Wall’s Teelan Kjerstad. “Defense is going to win us this game and energy is gonna win this game overall, so we just have to execute what we’re good at.”

Coach Kjerstad challenged his players to pick up their defense in the final half, and the Eagles responded.

“Our entirety of our season has been built around defense. We know we can score the ball, we got athletes,” said Coach Kjerstad. “It’s just, can we play relentless defense for a full game? And I was happy they bought into that.”

Wall came out in a full-court press and a different mindset, which caused issues for Lyman.

“We had a tough time breaking their press. I don’t know what we had exactly for turnovers, but it was a lot,” said Volmer. “I think we just got a little flustered out there and were a little overwhelmed at that point.”

Wall outscored Lyman 21-11 in the third quarter and trailed by just three points heading into the final period. Teelan Kjerstad led the comeback with seven points in the quarter, in addition to forcing turnovers that led to points.

“Yeah, it’s a loose ball, I’m just gonna get after it. Create as many turnovers as I can for our team and get steals,” said the sophomore. “That creates a lot of that energy for us and then it carries onto offense.”

Wall eventually regained a lead for the first time since the start of the second quarter on a 3-pointer from Kjerstad to take a 53-52 lead. A couple drives later, Lyman’s MJ Diehm went up for a fastbreak layup and hit the floor hard, causing some concern before he was able to walk off the floor.

“You’re always scared when the kids get up in the air. … It was not malicious by any means, it was just a hard play going up to try to block the shot and in situations like that, that’s when bodies collide,” said Garnos. “You’re always worried, but once we got out there, and part of it knocked the wind out of him, too… But he’s a tough guy.”

Conway Collins subbed in for the free throws, and made a foul shot to tie the score at 53-53. Lyman soon regained the lead with just under a minute left on a layup from Cole Kieffer, before Wall’s Emmet Dinger nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Eagles ahead to stay.

“It’s a testament to the guys that like the ball in their hands and we have a couple of them that have been doing that all season,” said Coach Kjerstad. “They did it here in the state tournament, so I’m really happy for them.”

Trailing by two points in the final seconds, the Raiders fouled Teelan Kjerstad with 4.7 seconds left and he made both foul shots to ice the win.

“I was not nervous. We shoot probably like 20 free throws a day at practice, so I’m used to the pressure,” he said. “That moment came, and I knocked them both down.”

The victory gave cause for a vocal Wall fan base to celebrate following the contest.

“It’s awesome. Best environment I’ve ever played in obviously,” Kjerstad said. “The crowd was amazing that game. They were into the game just as much as we were.”

Kjerstad finished with 22 points to top the Eagles, and Dinger added 17.

Volmer’s 19 points powered the Raiders.

Wall will face Freeman for fifth place at 1:45 this afternoon, while Lyman will take on Aberdeen Christian in the seventh-place game staring at noon.

WALL (18-7): Emmet Dinger 7 0-0 17, Jace Mohr 2 3-4 7, Teelan Kjerstad 6 7-7 22, Younger Amiotte 4 0-0 8, Austan Kjerstad 1 0-0 2, Carter Sundall 1 0-0 2, Trevor Schulz 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 11-13 59.

LYMAN (17-8): Conway Collins 1 3-4 6, MJ Diehm 1 4-5 7, Aksel Ehlers 4 0-0 8, Dawson Volmer 8 3-4 19, Cole Kieffer 3 1-2 7, Canyon Garnos 2 0-0 6, Chase Seaboy 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 11-15 55.

Wall 12 22 43 59

Lyman 10 35 46 55

3-point field goals – Dinger 3, Kjerstad 3; Collins, Diehm, Garnos 2. Total fouls – Wall 14; Lyman 11. Rebounds – Wall 35 (Amiotte 11); Lyman 33 (Volmer 8). Turnovers – Wall 13; Lyman 25.  Assists – Wall 13 (T. Kjerstad 5); Lyman 10 (Diehm 3, Volmer 3). Blocked shots – Wall 2 (Amiotte 2); Lyman 3 (Ehlers 2). Steals – Wall 12; Lyman 8.