“They came at us in the first half,” DeLaSalle senior guard Amir Whitlock said. “We knew we had to come back at them the same way.”

The Islanders didn’t start to assert themselves offensively until 4:45 was left in the first half, but the 12-5 run closed a 10-point 27-17 lead by Mankato East down to a 32-29 halftime lead for the Cougars.

“We came out after halftime running for the lead,” Whitlock said. “We never looked back.”

There was a notably different feel to the second half of the game right from the jump, as the DeLaSalle defense finally arrived and started locking down most everyone but star Cougars senior guard Jax Madson (23 points, five rebounds).

“We tried to start the game like we started the second half, and obviously it would have helped us a lot if we had,” Bledsoe said. “Playing better on both ends of the floor allowed our defense to get set up and cause more turnovers.”

After a couple of early fouls got him sent to the bench for a minute or two, Whitlock returned and started to make an offensive impact. Benefitting from several steals by both himself and his teammates, he put in 11 points and collected two rebounds and a block as he impacted both ends of the floor on his way to being named Breakdown’s Player of the Game.

“We have to start every game going forward like we started the second half,” Whitlock said. “We can’t let good teams go up ten-zero on us like [Mankato East did in the first half].”

A mid-second-half surge by the Islanders jumped them into the lead, but a dogged two way effort by the Cougars kept the two teams separated by no more than five to seven points at any given time.

But the clock ticked on and with just more than a minute left, the Islanders nearly surrendered the play that could have helped tie the game. Madson headed to the free-throw line to shoot a one-and-one, and missed the first free throw, allowing DeLaSalle to regain possession and retain their five-point lead, 65-60.

That became important about 30 seconds later, as Mankato East senior guard Grant Hermer nailed a corner three-pointer, closing the Islander lead to two.

“We slowed down their other players in the second half, which helped us out a lot,” Bledsoe said.

It was a one-and-one free throw chance for the Islanders that all but sealed their win, as junior guard Cade Haskins calmly walked to the free throw line and sank both free throws to give the Islanders their four-point win, 67-63.

“The score being where it was, and where we had to go to get it, there was a sense of calm,” Bledsoe said. “We knew we could open up a lead.”