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Wessington Springs rallies from 25-point deficit, stunning Wolsey-Wessington for 281 Conference championship
Wessington Springs celebrates winning the 281 Conference boys basketball championship on Jan. 23 in Huron.
(Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Wessington Springs rallies from 25-point deficit, stunning Wolsey-Wessington for 281 Conference championship

Jan 23, 2025
  

By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

HURON — The 281 Conference boys basketball championship game was one to remember on Thursday. 

Faced with a 25-point deficit, Wessington Springs used a 27-9 fourth-quarter surge and stunned Wolsey-Wessington for a 58-56 decision at the Huron Arena. 

Wessington Springs coach Joey Mitchell described it as “pretty much unbelievable,” and kept stressing to his players to keep chipping away at the deficit. 

“They rose to that occasion, and we battled back,” Mitchell said. 

Parker Graff was instrumental in the come-from-behind win, finishing with a game-high 35 points and scored 23 in the second half. He finished 11-of-19 from the field, 4-of-7 at the 3-point line and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. 

“Obviously, Graff started going bonkers,” Mitchell said. “But defensively I had guys stepping up. My seniors honestly were a little scared in the first half I thought and they really came around mid third quarter there.” 

The Warbirds shot 14-of-28 from the field in the first half, and led 35-19 at intermission. Wolsey-Wessington stretched its lead to 25 points at the 2:46 mark of the third quarter. 

The Spartans got within striking distance (47-31) entering the fourth quarter, and that’s when they pulled off the unlikely comeback. 

“We are kind of fast paced and we just worked together,” Graff said. “We got good passes, cut off the turnovers, and made our free throws, which was crucial.”


Graff powered the fourth-quarter rally, and drilled a 3-pointer to get within 52-46 with 3:35 left. He hit two free throws on the next possession, cutting the deficit to 52-48 with 3:05 remaining. 

After two Sam Poncelow free throws, Colby Flowers evened the score on a layup with 2:42 left. Flowers gave Wessington Springs its first lead, 54-52, on the next possession with 2:09 to go. 

The sequence sent the Spartans into a frenzy, and Mitchell couldn’t believe what was happening at the hallowed Huron Arena. 

“Once it got down to six and Parker hit that three, I just looked up and was like this is literally unbelievable,” Mitchell said.

Graff extended the lead to 56-53 with a jumper in the lane, and Wolsey-Wessington’s Larz Tvedt hit a 3-pointer to even it back up at the 1:08 mark. After the teams traded turnovers, Braden Flowers hit a turnaround jumper with 20 seconds left, giving Wessington Springs a 58-56 lead. Wolsey-Wessington called a timeout with 11.5 seconds left, but Caleb Richmond was whistled for a charge attacking the rim. 

Two missed Wessington Springs free throws kept it a two-point game, but Wolsey-Wessington’s desperation shot at the buzzer was no good. 

The Spartans then celebrated the comeback. 

“We were all hyped and we were all just one,” Graff said. “We were all on point clicking together. It was amazing.”

Caleb Richmond and Tvedt finished with 16 points apiece for Wolsey-Wessington. Moshe Richmond added 12 points and nine rebounds. 

Karter Mebius had nine points for the Spartans. Colby Flowers had eight points. 

In the first half, the Spartans shot 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-8 at the 3-point line. In the second half, Wessington Springs shot 15-of-25 from the field to spark the comeback. 

Mitchell also credited his team’s defensive effort in the second half.  

“We started actually guarding the drive,” Mitchell said. “We were embarrassing ourselves because we weren't even doing what we do every day. We just simplified it and they bought into it and just kept working on it.”

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