SPRING VALLEY — Spring Valley’s boys basketball squad took to the court with few seats to spare in its penultimate home game, taking on Durand-Arkansaw in a game that would break the conference tie for the first-place spot as each team entered Monday night at 11-1.

The Cardinals got out to a 16-8 lead early, but the offensive momentum faded to give the Panthers a 55-39 win. Previously, when the two teams faced off on Jan. 16, Spring Valley lost a thriller 43-41 on the road. They were determined to get their revenge, and it showed early. Spring Valley continuously corralled offensive rebounds in the early minutes to find second chance points and Durand-Arkansaw could not get anything to go. Seniors Trevor Forster and Cade Stasiek each got one to fall from deep and some fastbreak points pushed the early lead to 16-8 with 10 minutes to play in the half.

The rest of the half was all Durand-Arkansaw, going on a 24-6 run to close out the half with a 30-21 lead.

“I think they just made a couple shots, and they had a couple stops defensively,” Head Coach Rob Bosshart said. “I don’t think we really got rattled. I think we just got out of rhythm a little bit.”

He mentioned the players had the right mentality and remained calm; they just could not get baskets to fall when they were needed.

Six-foot-eight center from the Panthers, Dane Bates, came in averaging over three blocks per game and he was not letting anything by him Monday night. Bates blocked fastbreaks, post moves, came over for help defense to block driving layups. You name it, Bates did it.

In the second half, Stasiek and Forster were aggressive at the top of the key and making plays. The two were sparking fastbreaks and cut the Panther lead down to 34-30 with 10 minutes to play. Durand-Arkansaw was putting together lengthy possessions, swinging the ball to avoid ramped-up ball pressure. It worked to perfection when the Panthers avoided turnovers, and from there, a 55-39 win was sealed.

“We knew we had to have a balanced attack going against a team like Durand, and we never really got anything going inside to help us outside,” Bosshart said. “That’s not putting it all on the inside players, but we just couldn’t get into a rhythm.”

Bosshart said the Panthers had a good defensive plan to come out and pressure the guards, allowing Bates to work his magic as a post defender.

Despite trailing by double-digits late, there was not a single loose ball that was not dove on by Spring Valley players. This veteran team has the heart to make a run and they are not trying to leave anything up to chance.

“It means a lot. These kids have put a lot of time in. Those kids are all seniors,” Bosshart said. “This game means a lot to them. It so happened that tonight we were playing Durand, but they’ve been like that all season.”

Bosshart said there is no time to feel sorry for themselves, as they have to prepare for Thursday’s game against Boyceville and then the playoffs.

“At this point in the season we kind of know what we are,” Bosshart said. “We have to bounce back. We have another conference game.”