WICHITA — It came down to the final seconds for Baldwin boys basketball in Wednesday’s 4A state quarterfinal matchup against Pratt.

After leading by 15 at halftime, the Bulldogs saw that lead dissipate through the second half, and the Greenbacks had a chance to win when they were down by one with 10 seconds left. But thanks to a clutch block from Jackson Hunter with five seconds to go, sixth-seeded Baldwin (20-6) held on to defeat third-seeded Pratt 50-48 at Friends University.

Prior to the game-clinching block, Baldwin head coach Don Blanchat told his team who would likely get the ball and to help hard when they received it.

“Jackson, I think he saw the ball and he just went, made a play,” Blanchat said. “He’s a sophomore who’s on this stage for the first time, and just, no fear. Just went out and played basketball.”

It was a physical opening quarter, with each team hounding the other on the defensive end. Baldwin’s defense was especially impressive, holding Pratt to only 1-of-8 shooting from the field and forcing six turnovers over the opening eight minutes.

The Bulldogs took advantage too, scoring six of their 13 first-quarter points off those giveaways to take a 13-5 advantage into the second quarter.

Baldwin’s momentum only grew. Behind that suffocating defense and a 63.6% mark from the field, the Bulldogs opened up a sizable 29-14 lead heading into the locker room with Leo Schoenberger and Cooper Carr combining to score 19 of their 29 first-half points.

The discrepancy in first-half shooting percentage was also staggering, with Baldwin hitting 50% of its shots while simultaneously holding Pratt to only 18.8% from the field. The Greenbacks especially struggled behind the arc, going 2-for-11 in the opening 16 minutes of action.

But things changed quickly to open the second half.

Pratt went on an 11-0 scoring run in the first three and a half minutes of the opening of the third quarter, with Baldwin’s lead shrinking to four points quickly. Even after the Bulldogs saw a few shots fall to end the run, the Greenbacks came within two with a minute and a half left in the quarter.

However, the Bulldogs responded and ended the quarter with six straight to take a 41-33 advantage, despite the Greenbacks shooting 72.7% from the field in the third.

Pratt completed the comeback in the fourth quarter, tying things up with 5:38 to go. But Baldwin maintained its composure, leaning on senior experience in those final nail-biting minutes to lead the Bulldogs to the semifinals.

“It’s that experience, not only with being in those types of games, but Cooper Carr is a four-year starter, Leo Schoenberger and Colton Collum are four-year starters,” Blanchat said. “It’s just that calmness. We can put it in Cooper’s hands and he knows what to do. Just them being around for so long and playing so many games, they just are ready for that moment. And those guys just rise to the moment, and they did it again.”

Schoenberger led the way with 23 points on 50% shooting from the field and Carr added 17 points. For the Greenbacks, Caleb Strong had a team-high 13 points.

The Bulldogs will regroup and prepare for Friday night’s semifinal matchup in Hutchinson against second-seeded Atchison, which has yet to lose this season. And while this win is cause for celebration, Blanchat knows it can’t last long.

“Enjoy tonight, we have to move forward and look through Atchison and start putting together how we move forward, beat Atchison and play another one on Saturday,” Blanchat said. “Enjoy it, but when you wake up, you’ve got to refocus.”