Wessington Springs ultimately reached its desired destination Saturday afternoon, but the journey got a bit more turbulent than what appeared to be a smooth trip.

The Spartans lost a 15-point lead in the final quarter, but came up big to preserve a 55-51 win over Gregory and capture fifth place at the Class B Boys’ Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.

Wessington Springs seemed to have things under control before the Gorillas came to life in the fourth period, exploding for 24 points.

“A couple of things happened. They went to a 2-3 zone, which typically doesn’t give us trouble, but you’re playing with a lead, you play a little tentative,” said Spartans coach Kenny Huether. “They’re long. We got a little rattled, and then time and time again they were going down and hitting tough shots at the other end. We’re right there in their face and they kept knocking shots down.”

Gregory coach Jeff Determan said his team looked like it was in trouble as the third quarter ended.

“Even our body language wasn’t good. We got down 15, you’d probably think we were defeated. We just kept after it,” Determan said. “We changed things up. Sometimes you just have to give them a new look. We went to a little press, and our 2-3 zone, and we started making shots.”

A pep talk from senior leader Daniel Mitchell didn’t hurt either.

“We just got in the huddle at the time out and told everybody, the time is now,” Mitchell said. “It’s my senior year, can’t go out like that.”

Gregory kept inching closer and closer throughout the fourth quarter, eventually cutting the margin down to 46-43 with three minutes left. That’s when Wessington Springs senior Blake Larson nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help stem the tide for just a bit.

“We’ve been in tough situations before, and we know how to play,” Larson said. “As a senior leader on the team, it was just the right moment and I just figured I could step up and hit a shot.”

The Gorillas weren’t finished though. Gregory scored six straight points, four by Cruz Klundt and two by Mitchell to tie the score at 49-49 with 49 seconds left.

Larson again provided the answer for the Spartans, driving to the basket for a layup over Mitchell to provide a two-point lead with 37 seconds left.

“How about Blake Larson coming down and throws kind of a baby hook over Daniel, and it goes in and gives them the lead back,” Determan said.

Larson explained his mindset when attacking the rim with Mitchell closing in.

“The dude is big, that’s all I can say about that,” Larson said. “Get to the hole and score, that’s what was going through my head, get to the hole and score.”

Larson said he noticed Mitchell leaning in one direction, so he went the other.

“I seen him step to the left a little bit,” Larson said. “I saw a little opening on the right side and that’s just where I went to.”

Huether said it was a fitting finish for Larson.

“The three and the driving layup were tremendous. It kept us from falling apart,” Huether said. “Great way for him to go out as a senior.”

The drama wasn’t quite finished, though. After Gregory had a turnover, and the Spartans extended their lead to four, Mitchell scored again and Wessington Springs turned the ball over giving the Gorillas one last chance. However, a foul-line jumper was off the mark before the Spartans made two foul shots for the final margin.

Mitchell scored 15 points and finished just 15 short of 2,000 for his career. He enjoyed playing in his only state tournament.

“The atmosphere was probably something more than I thought it was (going to be),” Mitchell said. “It will be something that I will never forget.”

Noah Bearshield also had 15 points for Gregory, which concluded the year at 19-6.

“We had a great year,” Determan said. “We’ll hang our hat on this one and we’ll get back to work, and hopefully we can get some work done and maybe be back here next year.”

Parker Graff topped Wessington Springs with 17 points, Colby Flowers followed with 14, and Larson contributed 11.

“There’s no better way to leave your senior year, and I give a lot of credit to my guys, too,” Larson said. “They’ve been in the gym every day with me working hard. We deserved it. We deserved it for sure, every single one of our guys on this team.”

The Spartans finished the season with a 24-2 record and took home some nice hardware in the process.

“What an effort. Three games in three days and I don’t go real deep,” Huether said, “and the energy that these kids have had to spend, great effort, bouncing back from day one, going home 24-2 with a consolation championship is quite a feat.”

GREGORY (19-6): Noah Bearshield 6 1-2 15, Cruz Klundt 3 3-4 9, Daniel Mitchell 7 1-1 5, Lincoln Juracek 0 0-2 0, Cole Serr 3 0-0 7, Aiden Frasch 1 0-0 2, Jackson Bolander 1 0-0 3. Totals 21-52 5-9 51.

WESSINGTON SPRINGS (24-2): Blake Larson 5 0-1 11, Parker Graff 7 0-0 17, Brock Krueger 2 0-0 5, Colby Flowers 5 4-5 14, Ryder Michalek 2 4-6 8. Totals 21-40 8-12 55.

Gregory 11 21 27 51

Wessington Springs 15 29 42 55

3-point field goals – Bearshield (2), Serr, Bolander; Larson, Graff (3), Krueger. Total fouls – Gregory 13; Wessington Springs 9. Rebounds – Gregory 27 (Bearshield 6, Mitchell 5); Wessington Springs 26 (Michalek 7, Larson 6). Turnovers – Gregory 13; Wessington Springs 16. Assists – Gregory 10 (Klundt 4); Wessington Springs 9 (Krueger 3, Michalek 3). Blocked Shots – Gregory 3 (Mitchell 2); Wessington Springs 2. Steals – Gregory 6 (Klundt 3); Wessington Springs 4.