WILLMAR -- In the old days, Sam Esboldt's clutch basket might have met a ride on the shoulders of his happy schoolmates, who charged the court after Willmar's 43-42 victory over Mankato West in front of just over 1,000 fans.
Saturday night, he got cyberspace equivalent.
"Look at this," said the senior forward to teammate Andrew Bangen in the Cardinals' locker room not long after his awkward 12-foot jump shot buried the Scarlets' upset hopes.
He was counting new messages on his cell phone.
"Fourteen (texts)," he said with a laugh.
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"I got three," murmured Bangen as they exited.
In a heart-twittering ending, the No. 2-seeded Willmar Cardinals (19-9) escaped the Section 2AAA boys semifinal round with a one-point victory over No. 3 Mankato West (17-9).
Willmar will play No. 1 Hutchinson in Mankato at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The Scarlets came from 11 points behind in the last eight minutes to take a three-point lead, 42-39, with 1:42 to play on a 18-foot jumper by senior guard Preston Brunz, whose 13 second-half points sparked the rally.
Willmar cut the lead to 42-41 on two free throws by Taylor Filipek at 1:31. The Scarlets missed the front-end of two one-and-ones in the last 40 seconds. A jump ball after the second missed free throw gave possession to the Cardinals.
With 16 seconds left, Bangen brought the ball upcourt. Filipek didn't have a shot and the ball ended up in Esboldt's hands at the top of the key. He drove to his right, but the ball was swatted away. Cardinal forward Sam Spaulding grabbed the loose ball and handed it back to Esboldt with about five seconds left.
Matt Briggs, a 6-4 forward, was right on the 6-4 Esboldt, now 16 feet from the iron on the right side.
"I knew I only had two or three seconds left," said Esboldt, who clutched the ball in his stomach before tossing up the shot. "I kind of extended my leg forward to create some space and then put it up."
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West called a timeout with 1.6 seconds left. Brunz, who finished with a game-high 20 points, got off a shot from just inside mid-court that was short.
"We didn't shoot well the first half," said Mankato coach Tom Boone. "But our defense got us back in it the second half."
Filipek and Esboldt combined to score 19 of Willmar's first 21 points for leads of 11-2 and 21-10.
Willmar upped a 28-21 halftime lead to 36-24 on baskets by Brian Reeves, Jake Rambow and Jimmy Unger, the last a three-point play at 8:42.
But Brunz, the only holdover from a team that finished 29-2, sizzled with five baskets in the next seven minutes while Willmar managed three free throws.
Filipek finished with 16 points and 11 boards, part of a 33-23 Willmar advantage. Esboldt's added 13 points and Unger eight.
Together Esboldt, who sat seven minutes with four fouls, and Filipek had only a single field goal in the second half.
The teams were a combined 2-for 25 on threes.
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The game was a meeting of the past two 2AAA champions: Willmar took third at state in 2008 while West took second to Minneapolis Washburn last season.
Willmar 43, M. West 42
Mankato West (17-9) 21 21 -- 42
Willmar (19-9) 28 15 -- 43
MANKATO WEST - 15-44 FG (1-14 3-pt); 11-20 FT; 23 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Jack Mages 6, Preston Brunz 20, Phil Nelson 3, Nick Kaus 4, Des Spann 5, Jonny Paulsen 2, Ethan Tramp 2 ... 3-point shots: Brunz 1 ... Rebound leaders: Brunz 8, Matt Briggs 6 ... Assist leaders: no leader ... Steal leaders: no leader
WILLMAR - 16-41 FG (1-11 3-pt); 10-17 FT; 33 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Jimmy Unger 8, Jake Rambow 2, Sam Esboldt 13, Sam Spaulding 2, Taylor Filipek 16, Brian Reeves 2 ... 3-point shots: Esboldt 1 ... Rebound leaders: Filipek 11 ... Assist leaders: Mark Dunham 2... Steal leaders: three with one each
