Milbank got off to a quick start, then closed in a flurry as the third-seeded Bulldogs defeated Webster 54-20 Tuesday evening in the opening round of the Region 1A boys’ basketball tournament at the Roncalli Gym.

That fast start, said Milbank coach Logan Diede, was by design.

“When you get to postseason play, especially on the road … you want to start fast,” Diede said. “Especially with the way we ended our season, the last two games, we didn’t play super well. We were a little bit lethargic in our last game, and the guys knew that. So you had that taste in your mouth. We knew Webster was going to leave it all out there, because why wouldn’t you? So we knew we needed to start fast, and I felt like we did that. That was a huge key for us.”

That mindset definitely played in Milbank’s favor, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the game’s first four minutes. Webster cut it to 11-2 with 3:31 to play in the stanza, but that was the last time the margin stood at single digits.

Milbank withstood a spirited defensive stand from Webster early in the second quarter, but a 16-6 Bulldog lead eventually ballooned to 28-8 by halftime.

Milbank pulled steadily away from there.

“Playing good defense was key for us,” said Milbank sophomore Sam Rick. “Sometimes we can struggle on offense, but we always make up for it on the defensive end. And then just banging shots.”

Rick did a little of both for the Bulldogs, finishing with a game-best 21 points while being active on the defensive end.

“We held them to 20 points,” Rick noted concerning his team’s defensive effort. “Only eight in the first half, so I think we got the job done.”

“(Rick) is not a captain because he’s our leading scorer,” Diede said. “He displays veteran leadership. He was our sixth or seventh man last year as a freshman, and we really wanted him to step into that role, and I think he has all year. We can really count on him. He plays a lot of minutes and tonight the ball went in for him from outside, because he had an attacking mindset.”

Rick was joined in double figures by senior Graham Lightfield with 11 points. The two combined for all five Bulldog three-pointers in the game.

Webster received seven points from Thomas Kuecker as the Bearcats saw their injury-plagued season come to an end.

“This season just makes you tougher for life,” said Webster coach Jared Vergeldt. “Some day you might have a tough time in a job or a tough time in your marriage or a tough time on a math test. What are you going to do? Are you just going to roll over or are you going to fight through it? That’s what being an athlete is about. … It didn’t go our way this year with all the adversity issues we had, but it still was fun, and it was still a sport and we still grew from it.”

The Bulldogs, 11-10, will return to Roncalli Gym on Friday to face the Cavaliers of Aberdeen Roncalli in the region semifinals at 7 p.m. Milbank earned a 48-38 victory over Roncalli in a previous meeting between the two teams back on Feb. 7.

However, with a berth in the SoDak 16 on the line, the Bulldogs know this meeting comes with much higher stakes.

“It’ll be a lot of noise going on, but we just gotta channel it in, block it out and do what we do,” Rick said.

“We know it’s going to be a raucous environment,” Diede said. “The student section here plays a big role in Roncalli’s home games. We’re just going to ignore that to the best of our ability. … We know we’ve got a tough opponent with some size, but we know that we can compete with them.”

WEBSTER (5-16): Tate Mammenga 1 0-0 2, Ian Lesnar 2 0-0 4, Thomas Kuecker 3 0-0 7, Seth Lesnar 1 0-0 2, Blaize Amdahl 0 1-2 1, Gage Wik 1 0-2 2, McKoy Pereboom 0 2-2 2. Totals 8 3-6 20.

MILBANK (11-10): Graham Lightfield 4 1-2 11, Sam Rick 8 2-2 21, Bryan Meyer 2 0-0 4, Jack Howard 1 0-2 2, Emmett Hanson 2 0-0 4, Esteban Abrego 1 0-0 2, Ryan Keeton 1 2-2 4, Lincoln Holscher 2 0-0 4, Ethan Owen 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 5-8 54.

Webster 4 8 16 20

Milbank 16 28 43 54

3-point field goals – Kuecker; Lightfield 2, Rick 3. Total fouls – Webster 13; Milbank 15. Rebounds – Webster 23 (I. Lesnar 5); Milbank 28 (Lightfield 4, Abrego 4). Turnovers – Webster 16; Milbank 12. Steals – Webster 8; Milbank 12.