REVERSE LAYUP — Martin County West’s Zach Anderson maneuvers around Fairmont defenders Jacob Crissinger (13) and Sawyer Tordsen (0) to flip the basketball off the glass for a reverse layup Tuesday night at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont. The Cardinals’ Levi Pooley (22) and the Mavericks’ Tanner Sinn (13) watch the action. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — The Cardinals jumped ahead, but the Mavericks stormed back.

Martin County West overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Fairmont 72-68 during nonconference basketball action Tuesday night at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont.

Zach Anderson hit a buzzer-beating 3 around defenders to send the Mavericks into halftime with a one-point advantage, but Fairmont came out of the break on fire.

David Maakestad assisted Tanner Rosch for a 3 from the right-wing to put the Cardinals in front, then Zach Jorgensen and Gavin Junkermeier each hit one of two free throws to extend Fairmont’s lead to 37-33.

Jorgensen turned a steal into a layup, then drove the lane for two more points after Rosch made a diving save to keep the Cardinals from turning the ball over.

Maakestad then assisted Levi Pooley on an inbound-play layup, putting the Cardinals ahead 46-33 and finishing the Cardinals’ 14-0 run in the first five minutes of the second half.

Anderson made a traditional three-point play at the 12:21 mark for the Mavericks’ first points of the half, then the charge began after the Mavericks switched into a trapping, constant-pressure defense.

Mitch Weber used one of his game-high seven assists to help Tanner Sinn for two of his 14 points, then Jorgensen assisted Jacob Crissinger for one of his eight 3s, one shy of Fairmont’s single-game record Jack Hested set two seasons ago, putting the Cardinal lead at 49-38.

Sinn collected a loose ball and hit a layup, then Cash Owens poked away one of his co-game high five steals, leading to an Anderson dunk for two of his game-high 29 points.

Anderson then turned a steal into another point on one of two free throws before Weber dished a post-entry lob to Sinn for two more.

Weber stole a pass then dished the ball to Anderson for another layup to bring the Mavericks within 49-47 with 7:04 left.

Junkermeier broke the Mavericks’ run when he pump faked at the free throw line and drove for a left-handed finish at the rim, but MCW overtook the Cardinals with 11 consecutive points.

Sinn hit a layup, then assisted Weber for one of his team-high high six 3s, then Owens poked away another steal, which he turned into a traditional three-point play. Christian Bachenberg then assisted Weber for another 3, putting the Mavericks ahead 58-51 with five minutes remaining.

“It was a good comeback for our kids,” MCW head coach Cliff Anderson said. “… With Fairmont taking that big lead, we had to change the momentum. … Crissinger was awesome tonight and hit some big 3s, we had to try to find him and we did just enough. Our transition from our trap to the offensive end really helped us get back in the game.”

The Cardinals got back within 58-55 after Rosch and Jorgensen combined for four free throws, then Weber and Crissinger traded 3s.

The teams traded points for the final three minutes to create the Mavericks’ final four-point advantage.

“We were strong with the ball at the end,” Cliff Anderson said. “Our kids have been in a lot of close games this year, so they didn’t get nervous about that. … We’re starting to learn how to win close games and that’s big going into the playoffs.”

Crissinger led the Cardinals with 26 points, while Jorgensen dropped 21 points, dished out five assists and poked away five steals. Junkermeier added four rebounds to the Cardinals’ efforts. Zach Anderson led the Mavericks with his double-double performance of 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Weber totaled 20 points to complement his seven assists. Sinn added 14 points and eight rebounds to the Mavericks’ performance, while Bachenberg had five boards and three assists. Owens poked away five steals for MCW.

MCW made 27 of 52 shots overall, while shooting 8-for-15 from beyond the arc and 10-for-13 from the free throw line. Fairmont made 23 of 49 shots overall, including 13 of 30 from 3, while making 9 of 12 attempts from the charity stripe.

“It was a heartbreaking one,” Fairmont head coach Jared Thompson said. “This has been the toughest stretch I’ve had as a coach, four games in six days. To see the guys battle and play so well when we hadn’t been, I was so proud of them. Just with six or seven minutes left, we came unraveled. Give Martin County West credit, they changed their defense up and we just didn’t adjust quick enough. … Everybody has been shooting well against us lately, we’re gonna need to do a better job of contesting shots because everybody has been hot and there might be a reason for that.”

Fairmont ends its regular season with a record of 6-9 and faces Redwood Valley in the Big South Conference Crossover at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Redwood Falls. MCW (9-8) ends its regular season when it goes west to Jackson for a matchup with Jackson County Central at 7 p.m. Friday.

MCW 33-39–72

FMT 32-36–68

Fairmont (68)

Crissinger 9-13 0-0 26, Jorgensen 7-15 5-6 21, Rosch 2-9 2-2 8, Pooley 3-6 0-0 7, Junkermeier 1-2 2-4 4, Tordsen 1-1 0-0 2, Maakestad 0-1 0-0 0, Utermarck 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-49 9-12 68.

MCW (72)

Anderson 10-16 7-10 29, Weber 7-14 0-0 20, Sinn 7-14 0-0 14, Owens 1-2 3-3 5, Bachenberg 2-4 0-0 4, Runkle 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 27-52 10-13 72.

3-pointers: FMT 13-30 (Crissinger 8); MCW 8-15 (Weber 6). Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Fairmont 21 (Junkermeier 4, Jorgensen, Crissinger & Utermarck 3 each); MCW 30 (Anderson 10, Sinn 8, Bachenberg 5). Assists: Fairmont 15 (Maakestad & Jorgensen 5 each); MCW 14 (Weber 7, Bachenberg 3). Steals: Fairmont 10 (Jorgensen 5); MCW 9 (Owens 5).

Jaime Mueller scored 15 points to lead the Cardinals to a 71-27 B-squad win over the Mavericks on Tuesday in Fairmont.

Armando Hernandez and Blake Hilgendorf both scored 12 points for the Cardinals, while Owen Burmeister added 11 and Prince Libbi dropped 10.

Haden Toomer scored eight points to lead the Cardinals to a 32-21 win over MCW during C-squad action Tuesday in Fairmont.

Oliver Tordsen added six points to the Cardinals’ efforts.