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The Prescott Cardinals boys struggled as the calendar turned to February and the stretch run of the regular season, losing five of their final eight games. The team had to play eight games in just twelve days, a difficult feat for any team. The Cardinals got a six-day break before the playoffs and a chance to charge their batteries with a bye in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, Prescott hosted Durand, who defeated Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 59-54 three nights earlier. Prescott’s regular season record was 10-9, while Durand was 13-5 during the regular season.

Durand started fast, outscoring the Cardinals 7-2 in the first 2:40 of the game. Prescott settled for several long-range shots, and they were not falling. When Durand was not hitting their shots, they got offensive rebounds giving them extra possessions. Just 5:40 into the match up, Durand held a large 16-4 lead and it looked like the Cardinals may be run out of their own building. With 1:30 left until halftime, Durand still held a 14-point advantage, leading 29-15. Dallas Wallin scored a bucket to start a 6-0 run before halftime to trim the Durand led to 29-21 at the break.

Wallin started the scoring in the second half with a three-point play. After a Durand basket, Prescott scored the next seven points, five by sophomore Jordan Malmlov. Just 2:44 into the second half, the Cardinals had come all the way back to tie Durand at 31. Another Malmlov three-point shot put Prescott up 39-33 with 11:00 to play. Durand was not about to go away quietly though and closed to 45-44 with 4:54 remaining in the game. Wallin made sure Prescott stayed in the lead. The freshman hit a big three point shot on the next possession, then followed that up with a two-point basket to give the Cardinals a 50-44 lead. Durand made one last run in the game, trimming Prescott’s lead to 54-52 with 39 seconds left to play, but the Cardinals made their free throws and held on for the 57-52 victory. One of the keys to the victory was the team attacked the Durand defense in the second half instead of settling for the three-point shot. Prescott shot 20-53 or 37.7% for the game, only hitting 5-24 shots from behind the arc.

Malmlov led the Cardinals with 16 points. Wallin scored 14 points. Hayden Pattridge added nine points. Walker Lenz recorded six points and added five rebounds. Teddy Huppert scored six points, while Philip Seifert finished with five points and had five rebounds. Ben Rohl scored one point.

With the playoff victory, the boys had to travel the next afternoon to LaCrosse to take top seeded Aquinas. If this sounds familiar, it is because the Prescott girls team had the same schedule in their playoff run. Both Prescott teams were seeded second in the bracket and both Aquinas teams held a one seed and received a huge advantage with the Prescott teams having to travel for back-to-back games. The Cardinals were accustomed to playing back-to-back games from the regular season though, and they would be ready.

Aquinas defeated Mondovi the night before in LaCrosse by a score of 45-37, improving their record to 15-3 on the season. Earlier this season on December 15th, Prescott beat Mondovi 91-73. Prescott likes to run the floor and shoot three-point shots in rhythm. When Prescott is playing well, they routinely score 70 points or more, while Aquinas likes to play a lower scoring game. Only twice this season did they give up 60 points in a game. Whichever team was able to play at their pace would have an advantage in the game.

The Cardinals came out and battled Aquinas nearly even for the first 18 minutes. At the half, Aquinas held a slim 28-25 lead. The Cardinals were unable to get their outside game working. Both teams were playing tough defense. In the second half, the good defense and shooting woes continued and the scoring slowed even further. Prescott would only manage 19 points after the break and fell to Aquinas by a score of 51-44. Prescott shot just 33.3% from the field and 7-26 or 30.9% from beyond the arc.

Malmlov again led the team with 18 points. Wallin added 12 points and nine rebounds and Lenz scored four points. Seifert and Justin Syverson three points apiece, while Teddy Huppert scored two points and grabbed six rebounds. Ben Rohl added two points.

The Cardinals have a bright future with youngsters Malmlov and Wallin leading the way.