bonus, the Cardinals led 35-30 with 2:00 to go before the break.

The Spartans connected at the charity stripe after getting fouled on a made basket and followed it up with make from outside the arc to tie the game at 36. Somerset got the ball back and called a timeout to set up a play with 20 seconds remaining.

Prescott’s defense stayed strong and the Spartans missed two shots to end the half still tied up.

Somerset struck first with a three after working the ball around the perimeter for a nice look. Both teams missed shots from deep before Nielsen drove to his right and scored through some contact. The Spartans hit another threepointer before Doffing found the basket after a crafty post move, but the Cardinals still trailed 42-40 with 15:00 to remaining.

Nielsen took his defender to the post to show off his offensive repertoire with a drop step for two.

Prescott got the ball back, worked it around the perimeter where Nielsen set up Malmov for another three. Somerset tried to answer but as the game ticked closer to finishing, the Cardinals stepped up their game. After Mason Holte found a basket inside, Nielsen snagged a rebound near the rim and took it coast-to-coast for two more points of his own.

The Cardinals jumped ahead 49-42 and the Spartans were forced to call a timeout with 12:34 remaining in their season.

When action resumed, Prescott got the ball back and Nielsen took it up the court. He found Holte at the high post, who drew the attention of a couple Spartan defenders before setting up Doffing for an easy bucket with a nice pass right over the defense.

An empty offensive possession for the Spartans followed and Dylan Malmov punished them with a drive.

He decided not to dunk on the Somerset defense and stopped short, hitting a sweet jump shot to put his team ahead by eight with 7:45 to go.

Prescott slowed the game down a little bit before Nielsen drew a foul after driving and added another point at the line. With 5:30 remaining, the Cardinals led 60-51.

The Spartans started to chip back.

With 3:20 left, Jacob Doffing and Walker Lenz found themselves in foul trouble with four each. The Spartans followed up a layup with a quick three and found themselves trailing only 62-58 with 2:08 on the clock.

Parker Nielsen took a shot and hustled for his own board to extend their lead by two more. Somerset scored two of their own. Doffing added a point at the charity stripe before Nielsen chipped in another pair to make it a seven-point game. The Spartans drew a foul on a shot and hit both to cut it back to just five. Nielsen took a shot to extend the lead out of their reach, but it bounced off the rim. Senior Wyatt Holum outhustled the opposing team and snatched the rebound before a timeout was called by the Cardinals with 15 seconds on the clock. The Spartans got the ball back and got fouled, adding to their score to make it a 68-65 ball game with one second to play. Jordan Malmov rebounded the free throw attempt before he was fouled and extended the lead by another pair to end the game at 70-65 in favor of the Cardinals.

Nielsen led in points with 27, but Jordan was close behind with 26.

Holte led all players in rebounds with 12 and also dished five assists. Doffing controlled the paint and finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six blocks.

Nielsen also contributed seven assists and five rebounds for the Cardinals.

Coach Nick Johnson had a lot of good things to say about both teams following the entertaining matchup.

“We knew it was going to be a game like that. They are well coached, they work so hard and they have such good players,” Johnson said respectfully about the Spartan squad led by Coach Troy Wink. “We knew it was going to be a barn burner and we obviously feel good about coming away with the win. It’s survive and move on now, it’s just win; and we did!”

Jordan Malmov scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half.

“We got production from a lot of different players, a little freshman played well. He’s cold blooded and he’s got no fear. Jordan’s a heck of a player. I’m proud of our kids. We got punched in the face in the first half, we got punched in the face in the second half and we kept responding. We didn’t break down and that’s the important thing,” Johnson stated.

Prescott will play the second-seeded St. Croix Central on Thursday, hosted by Somerset for the WIAA Sectional Semi-Final game. The Panthers finished 3rd in the Middle Border Conference and boast an 18-6 record.