After the Spring Valley boys’ basketball team defeated No. 12 Augusta in the first round of the WIAA Division 4 playoffs, head coach Rob Bosshart said he’d like to beat fourth-seeded Melrose-Mindoro and then get a shot at top-seeded Fall Creek – and that’s exactly what happened.

Spring Valley began its postseason run with a first-round matchup at home against the aforementioned Augusta Beavers. The fifth-seeded Cardinals entered the game 14-10 overall while Augusta went into the quarterfinal with a 5-18 record and having lost seven consecutive.

Spring Valley methodically built a 21-12 lead through the first nine minutes of the opening half, but Bosshart’s Cardinals didn’t stop there. Throughout the next nine minutes, Spring Valley outscored Augusta 22-9 and took a 43-21 lead into the break that all but ended the game.

The Cardinals’ dominant first-half performance was in large part because Spring Valley played selfless basketball and regularly made extra passes that generated wide-open jumpers or layups. Coach Bosshart spoke about his team’s selfless play that helped build a sizable lead.

“Our guys play unselfish basketball,” Bosshart said. “If you look at our assists to field goals made ratio, it’s pretty high. Our kids are really unselfish. We don’t run an offense where we rely on kids to go one-on-one, so it’s a team effort to set screens and get the open guy the ball.”

Spring Valley’s offensive excellence helped the Cardinals cruise to a 72-55 win. Their balanced offensive attack saw four players reach double figures on Tuesday night. Sophomore Cade Stasiek led the Cardinals with 19 points, while juniors Jameson Bauer and Kaden Robelia had 14 and 12 respectively. Junior guard Diego Schmitt rounded out the night with 12 points.

With the win, Spring Valley advanced to a road regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Melrose-Mindoro on Friday, March 3. Despite having two days off, the Cardinals picked up right where they left off. 

The Cardinals jumped out to a 26-17 advantage at the half which ultimately culminated in a 60-45 road victory over Melrose-Mindoro. As the second half melted away, Melrose-Mindoro implemented a full-court press to quickly generate turnovers.

Bosshart spoke about how his team not only handled the pressure but broke the press effectively and hit free throws down the stretch that sealed the Cardinals’ second postseason victory of the year.

“The kids did a great job of taking care of the basketball and didn’t turn it over,” Bosshart said. “We forced them to not only foul us, but foul really good free throw shooters. They went to the line and made free throws. I thought our kids grew up a lot throughout the season in those situations and it showed in those last five or six minutes against (Melrose-Mindoro).”

Spring Valley went 24-28 at the free throw line en route to the double-digit victory. Stasiek led the Cardinals in the efforts at the stripe as he went 10-12. Schmitt and Bauer were both 6-6 at the line which helped send Spring Valley to a regional title game on Saturday night.

Spring Valley traveled to Fall Creek for a matchup with the top-seeded Crickets, a team that was ranked in the top 10 of the Wissports.com Division 4 coaches’ poll nearly the entire season.

Fall Creek proved to be too much to handle, as the senior-laden Crickets dominated Spring Valley and secured a 74-47 victory, its second regional title in the last three seasons. Bosshart spoke about what makes Fall Creek an elite team.

“They’re an outstanding team,” Bosshart said. “They’re big, physical and athletic. They did a great job of moving the ball and played very well together. They had good perimeter shooting against us and we had to pick our poison because of the size difference.”

Fall Creek made hay this season with its physicality and interior scoring. Because of that, Spring Valley put additional defensive pressure on the post players and doubled in some instances. That’s when the Crickets kicked it outside and began making three-pointers.

While Fall Creek was likely the better team regardless of conditions, it didn’t help that Jameson Bauer, one of Spring Valley’s best perimeter shooters, left the game just 30 seconds into the first half.

Shortly after the tip, Bauer dove for a loose ball and collided with a Fall Creek player and potentially sustained ligament damage, according to coach Bosshart. He spoke about how Bauer’s early exit impacted team morale in the regional title game.

“You could tell that the kids saw that happen and it was like letting air out of a balloon,” Bosshart said. “It took us out of our rhythm and I think it shook the kids a bit. It shortened the rotation and then we got into foul trouble in that first half, so we played some unique lineups.”

Spring Valley finished the season 16-11 overall and 9-5 in league games. While several integral aspects made the season a success, perhaps none were bigger than a conversion one senior role player had with Bosshart before the year began.

In the days leading up to the season, Spring Valley senior R.J. Hybben sent Bosshart an email and expressed that he knew the team would be dominated by underclassmen. He told Bosshart that although his playing time would likely be minimal, he would do everything he could to make the team better.

Whether that was just going to practice with a great attitude or being ready whenever his opportunity came, he was completely committed to the team. Bosshart spoke about how that impacted the season when he shared that anecdote with the team.

“I shared that with the team at the beginning of the season and it set the tone,” Bosshart said. “(Hybben) and the seniors were so selfless and they were always team-first. I can’t give enough credit to the attitude that our seniors brought in. That’s one of the reasons why it was such an enjoyable group to work with this year.”