Prescott knocks off undefeated No. 4 Osceola in regular season finale

By Reagan Hoverman

The regular season finale between Prescott and the No. 4-ranked Osceola Chieftains had a combined 109 points scored, 11 nerve-wracking lead changes and countless Cardinals fans celebrating on the court as soon as the game went final.

On Monday, Feb. 20, Prescott did what no other team had been able to do this season – defeat Osceola. The Chieftains went into the contest with a flawless 22-0 record and as one of only four boys’ basketball teams in the state at any division level that was still undefeated.

That all changed less than two hours later, as Prescott’s physical, gritty game defensively led to the Cardinals’ 57-52 upset victory over one of the top programs in the state this season. For Prescott head coach Nick Johnson, getting the biggest win of the year and having it happen in large part because of their defensive effort would have been an unfathomable thought just three weeks ago.

“We’ve put so much pressure on our offense because our defense hasn’t shown up to games and we’ve known the whole year we’ve had this in us,” Johnson said after the win. “We’ve believed this whole time we By Reagan Hoverman could be a man-to-man team. (Osceola) is a phenomenal team and this tells us we don’t have to score 80 or 85 points every game. This is exactly what we needed.”

The Cardinals played smothering man-to-man defense against Osceola’s versatile lineup all night. Prescott junior Ian Leask and sophomore Barrett Temmers alternated minutes defending Osceola senior forward Brayden Bradway, who has been the Chieftains’ primary offensive threat this season with his team-high 23 points per game.

Although Bradway finished with 18 points, he scored just four in the first half and struggled to overcome Prescott’s physical man-to-man defense. The Cardinals also kept Osceola senior forward Carson Hollman in check, as he tallied just nine points on Monday night. Coach Johnson spoke about the key to keeping those two threats under control.

“With a kid like (Bradway) he’s got to be your focus and you can’t lose track of (Hollman) either,” Johnson said. “Ian (Leask) and Barrett (Temmers), they can stick on guys and lock in and it’s so fun to watch. All of our defense was terrific. It wasn’t just those two, it was a total team effort. This is one of our best team defense games we’ve played all year, if not the best. It was fantastic.”

After falling behind 8-1 just two minutes into the game, Prescott responded with a scoring run of its own. Throughout the next four minutes, the Cardinals chipped away at Osceola’s advantage and eventually took an 11-10 lead when senior forward Brady Block hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 12 minutes to play in the first half.

Prescott and Osceola traded buckets and small scoring runs throughout the remainder of the first half and went into the intermission tied 2929. The Cardinals’ big hitters offensively made their presence felt throughout the second half, particularly senior Jordan Malmlov and junior Dallas Wallin.

Malmlov and Wallin each had 11 points in the final 18 minutes and combined to score 22 of the Cardinals’ 28 second-half points en route to the 57-52 win. The dynamic duo connected several times throughout the game with lob layups and backdoor passes that generated high-quality looks at the rim.

“We’ve told Dallas all year that it doesn’t have to be a number one and number two, he and Jordan need to be 1A and 1B,” Johnson said. “I think lately (Dallas) has shown up and he’s been a difference maker for us. He’s just so tough to be stopped and he creates so well for his teammates too.”

With the game still hanging in the balance with under two minutes to play in regulation, Prescott trailed 52-51. Wallin proceeded to score five of Prescott’s final six points – all at the free throw line – to help secure the upset victory over Osceola. Wallin spoke about the season-defining win against the Chieftains.

“I think we started locking in defensively,” Wallin said after the game. “We were playing lackadaisical (earlier in the year) and now we’ve finally started realizing how good we can be if we play how we should play, and I think it just triggered something.”

Prescott’s two biggest wins of the season have been against Osceola and River Falls, both of which have come in the past week. The Cardinals are unquestionably playing their best basketball of the season heading into the playoffs and that has Wallin and the rest of the roster enthusiastic for the postseason.

“We’re shooting for the stars this year and with how good we can play, I think we can beat any team,” Wallin said. “We come into every game liking our chances. If we play Prescott basketball, we like our odds.”

Wallin’s sentiments were similar to those of Johnson, who also feels like his team is peaking and building momentum at the right time heading into the Division 3 playoff bracket.

“It’s huge to have momentum going into the playoffs,” Johnson said. “To have that momentum off a monster win against an undefeated topfour team, it’s exactly what we needed to do.”

Prescott received the No. 2 seed in its portion of the Division 3 bracket and received a first-round bye. The Cardinals will begin their postseason at home against the winner of Amery and Somerset on Friday, March 3. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 7 p.m.

Prescott junior forward Dallas Wallin slashes into the lane moments before finishing a three-point play the old-fashioned way. Wallin’s scoring helped propel Prescott to a 57-52 victory over the Osceola Chieftains, a team that was 22-0 going into the game on Monday, Feb. 20. Photo by Reagan Hoverman