The Wilton Beavers came into Tuesday’s game on a high, just 24 hours removed from a 53-52 win over previously unbeaten West Branch.

Conversely, the Mid-Prairie locker room was about as low as it could be Monday night – after Washington led by as many as 27 in the fourth quarter on the Golden Hawks’ home court.

“The guys knew that they wanted to be a better team than what they put on on Friday,” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “And the best way to get over a tough one is to go back out the next day and try and fix everything.”

Will Cavanagh’s 3-pointer would Mid-Prairie up 7-5 on Tuesday and the Golden Hawks never trailed again in a 61-50 win over Wilton.

Mid-Prairie had just six turnovers, and shot 5-15 from the 3-point line after an ice cold 3-24 outing the night before.

“We took care of the basketball,” Lambert said. “We handled adversity, whether Wilton went on a run or we had a little dry spell, guys just stepped up. And ultimately, it was just a really, really good team game.”

One of the guys who stepped up in the third quarter was sophomore Alex Bean.

Bean, who did not have a point in the first half, hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored the Golden Hawks’ first eight points of the second half as the lead grew from seven to 12.

As the defense sought to limit Bean’s open shots, he attacked closeouts and dished to Ethan Kos and Aidan Rath for easy baskets. Bean scored or assisted on 14 of the Golden Hawks’ 19 third-quarter points.

“It's easy for a young player to kind of just get caught up in how many points you're scoring,” Lambert said. “He can score points, but Tuesday night he was he was great at finding his teammates.

"And some of those were not easy passes. They were wrap arounds or quick pocket passes. And it was just great to see him kind of evolve his game because we really haven't seen him pass the ball in difficult situations like that. And it just brought a whole other element to the offense.”

Bean finished with eight points and a team-high five assists. Kos, who was the beneficiary of a few of those passes, scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half as the Golden Hawk lead grew to 18 points late in the fourth quarter.

Kos went 6-7 off the bench. He routinely hauled in passes through heavy traffic before finishing at the basket. 

 “When his number’s called, he gives everything he's got,” Lambert said. “He's done it multiple times this season. When Aidan comes out, he goes in and they kind of just go back and forth for each other. In talent level and effort, there's definitely no drop off. When Ethan touches the court, he can affect the game just with his overall relentlessness on the floor.”

Carter Harmsen put up 13 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds. Rath had nine points and nine rebounds.

Luke Boyse hit a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run that put Mid-Prairie up 14-7 in the first quarter. Will Cavanagh made a pair from behind the arc in the first half and had four assists.