Wessington Springs knew about the speed and athleticism of the Wall Eagles, but it still took a bit of adjustment. Once the Spartans controlled the controlled the tempo, they also controlled the scoreboard at Wachs Arena.

Wessington Springs dominated the second half on the way to a 74-52 opening round win during the Class B State Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

“That’s what Wall does,” said Wessington Springs coach Joey Mitchell. “That was where they had success, causing havoc in the press they do, running and jumping, randomly trapping, not trapping, just mixing it up and giving you a different look.”

After an even first half, the Spartans scored the final seven points of the second quarter to set the stage for the final 16 minutes.

“I thought we kind of found our groove with three minutes left in the second quarter,” Mitchell said, “and talking after half, we need to clean up our transition defense.”

Soon, that defense began to take hold and allowed the Spartans to pull away.

“We just wanted get out to a fast start and play our type of basketball,” said Wall’s Emmet Dinger, “but they outrebounded us and that hurt us really bad.”

It was Colby Flowers who dominated life in the lane for Wessington Springs. The junior had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half alone. He finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.

“I teased him he was good, but he could be a dog, and by being a dog, that’s what we saw today. He was doing it all,” Mitchell said. “He was catching full-court passes, he was helping break the press, he was scoring, rebounding, and even help-side defense. I think he contested every shot he had at the rim. … He was just all over the place.”

Included in his performance were several length of the court passes that Flowers hauled in for transition layups. The receptions were reminescent of his receptions right next door at Dacotah Bank Stadium during a playoff football win last fall.

“I don’t think I had as much yards in that game than I did out here tonight,” Flowers said. “I just love football too, so being able to add football to my game with those boys just throwing it up to me is kind of awesome.”

Where Flowers really hurt the Eagles was inside with a variety of drop-step moves and offensive putbacks.

He was also a force on defense, preventing drives to the hoop.

“We shoot a lot of threes and typically make a few more than we did today. Obvioulsly, Flowers inside took away a fair bit of what we hoped to do inside,” said Wall coach Ryan Kjerstad. “Again, credit to them, but it doesn’t change anything about who we think we are.”

It was a 14-2 run by the Spartans late in the third quarter that helped to put the game out of reach.”

“Our guards’ defense was just incredible the second half. … That’s when the game opened up,” Flowers said. “That was all thanks to our guards’ defense.”

Karter Mebius added 20 points to the Wessington Springs total, helping to pick up the slack for Parker Graff, who is out with a torn ACL.

“Karter has really taken off, sadly enough, since Parker Graff got hurt,” Mitchell said. “Karter has been the man that’s stepped in that spot and taken over.”

Ryder Michalek contributed 18 points for the Spartans.

Dinger topped Wall with 19 points, and Teelan Kjerstad finished with 13.

The Eagles will face Lyman at noon in consolation play today.

“It’s going to be a really competitive game,” Dinger said. “We played in the regular season.”

Lyman won that contest by three points.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Kjerstad said. “That was our only regular-season loss to a Class B school.”

Wessington Springs, 22-2, meets top-seeded Castlewood in the semifinals at 6 tonight. The Warriors are led by 6-foot-9 center Bryon Laue.

“I’ve always loved playing these big dudes,” Flowers said of the matchup. “It really shows me where I’m at as an athlete.”

The Spartans understand the task that awaits them.

“It’s like a mini-college team out there, honestly,” Mitchell said. “You don’t see kids like Laue at our level. He’s honestly a man inside.”

Mitchell believes in his players and knows they will compete.

“My kids are going to have to bring the fight,” Mitchell said. “They’re going to have to get after it.”

WALL (17-7): Emmet Dinger 8 0-0 19, Dawson Handcock 2 0-0 4, Jace Mohr 2 0-0 4, Teelan Kjerstad 6 1-2 13, Carter Sundall 2 0-0 7, Chase Carlbom 1 0-0 2, Riley Gay 1 0-0 3. Totals 23-68 1-2 52.

WESSINGTON SPRINGS (22-2): Karter Mebius 8 3-5 20, Wesley Molnar 1 0-0 3, Sam Poncelow 1 0-0 2, Colby Flowers 10 4-8 24, Ryder Michalek 5 8-10 19, Luke Larson 2 0-0 4, Grady Gran 1 0-0 2. Totals 28-48 15-23 74.

Wall 12 25 36 52

Wessington Springs 12 32 56 74

3-point field goals – Dinger 3, Sundall, Gay; Mebius, Molnar, Michalek. Total fouls – Wall 22; Wessington Springs 8. Rebounds – Wall 22 (Trevor Schulz 5); Wessington Springs 47 (Flowers 16, Michalek 11). Turnovers – Wall 14; Wessington Springs 22. Assists – Wall 10 (Kjerstad 3); Wessington Springs 12 (Michalek 3, Larson 3). Blocked shots – Wall 1; Wessington Springs 2. Steals – Wall 12 (Kjerstad 3, Handcock 2, Younger Amiotte 2); Wessington Springs 3 (Poncelow 2).