Staff photo by Ari Selvey Madelia’s Josiah DeMaris (2) takes a shot over Nicollet defenders Carson Kettner (34), Henry Kennedy (2) and Keegan Hulke (5) during the Section 2A Boys Basketball Tournament Tuesday at Madelia High School.

MADELIA — Fourth-seeded Madelia took a 30-25 lead at halftime and extended it into a 64-52 win over 13th-seeded Nicollet Tuesday in a Section 2A Boys Basketball Tournament game.

Madelia head coach Jeff Van Hee said that senior leadership was key in coming away with the win.

“We just had guys that have been here before in these tight games,” he said. “They came out, they were juiced and ready to go, Nicollet was. And we knew that they would play well. They’ve played us fairly close. We felt like we were, man for man, a better team than we had played. But [Nicollet head coach] Chris [Hulke] has gotten that thing turned around. They’ve got a lot of confidence, they had so much confidence coming in, and that confidence carries you a long way. Our defense really got physical, and we tried to make every 50-50 ball ours. And that was a big thing.”

Kaydon Firchau led the Blackhawks with 18 points, while Kyle Pietsch had 15 points. Hayden Jones had 14 points and Tate Becker added 11 points.

Carson Kettner led all scorers for Nicollet with 22 points and five rebounds, while Henry Kennedy had 9 points and five rebounds. Henry Oscarson added 7 points and five rebounds.

“We just didn’t make enough shots,” coach Hulke said. “Kind of our season-long story. Offense is good at times when we can’t make shots. Super impressed with our defensive effort. We played a lot of man tonight, and I thought it worked well.

“It’s tough. No seniors this year, but every year is a little bit different version of the team, so it’s hard to see this one end. We got a little taste of it. It was pretty raucous in here, so it’s a great place to play a playoff game. Hopefully we’re battle tested for next year, and with no seniors, I’m excited for what we can do over the summer to get ready for next year.”

Both teams played strong defense to start off the game, with a 3-pointer by Oscarson opening the scoring two minutes into the game. Firchau responded on the next possession with a 3 of his own , and the teams traded buckets until a 3-pointer from Keegan Hulke put Nicollet up 10-5.

Madelia quickly took the lead with a 7-0 run, started by a putback from Josiah DeMaris and finished with a layup from Pietsch to go up 14-13. Oscarson made a layup and Kettner finished through a foul to put the Raiders back up 17-14, but a 3-pointer from Firchau tied the game at 17.

The teams battled for several possessions, but Madelia got hot with a 7-0 run, finished by a 3-pointer from Jones to go up 29-21. Nicollet ended the run with a layup from Kettner, and another layup from Kettner made it a 30-25 game going into half.

Madelia started the second half with 8 unanswered points, going up 38-25 after a pair of free throws from Pietsch. Nicollet fought to cut the lead down to 40-34 after a 3-pointer and a layup from Kettner, but Madelia got going again with a steal and a layup from Becker.

While Nicollet stuck around, not letting the lead get much bigger than 10 points for the majority of the second half, Madelia maintained a strong lead. With under three minutes to play, Jones and Firchau made consecutive 3-pointers to put the Blackhawks up 63-47. Kettner made a 3-pointer late, but Madelia dribbled the rest of the clock away for the victory.

Nicollet finishes the season with a 14-14 record after going without a win a season ago despite not having a senior on the roster.

“I’m so proud of them,” coach Hulke said. “To go from zero wins last year and two wins the year before to 14 this year. I hope they remember that more than the playoff loss. Sometimes the season can get lost in that, but just the growth they’ve had, they rewrote the story of our whole program.

“They lost five seniors and still won 14 more games than last year. They’ve bought into everything we’ve taught. We pushed them pretty hard, they bought in, and the sky’s the limit for next year. I’m already excited to start planning for next year as much as it hurts for this year to be done.”

Madelia, meanwhile, improves to 21-6 and will play 12th-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s in the next round of the tournament. The game will be held at 7:45 on Thursday at St. Peter High School.

“We’re just going to have to weather the storm when it happens,” Van Hee said. “Toughness, physical and mental. Next play mentality, make adjustments, make sure something doesn’t happen twice … Stay connected and play for each other. If they continue to play for each other, we’ll be good.”