But the last four minutes got dicey and in the end, the Warriors’ 62-53 win in Class 1A District 11 semifinal action wasn’t as fulfilling for coach Garrett Bear as it could have been.

“We played a solid three quarters, but the farther we move on we’re gonna have to put a full game together,” Bear said. “The more you move along, the more those mistakes are magnified.”

The Warriors got off to a strong start on the defensive end — applying a half-court pressure and forcing the Spartans’ guards to make quick decisions with the ball. The Warriors capitalized off those turnovers with fast-break points, although they still left some missed layups out on the court.

In the halfcourt offense, the plan was clear: keep the ball moving and let Meskwaki’s backcourt do damage off the dribble. It made sense, then, why four of the Warriors’ starters were guards: Emmett Roberts, Larnell Bear, Evan Nelson and leading scorer Taurice Grant. Grant and Roberts were particularly difficult to contain early on for the Spartans, and baseline drives to the basket were common. Some of the Warriors’ more audacious attempts didn’t go down, but it was enough to keep Grundy Center on its heels.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Meskwaki senior guard Emmett Roberts, left, goes in for a layup in front of Grundy Center’s Cale Hendricks (12) during the second half of Tuesday’s game at West Fork High School in Sheffield.

Bear was positive about the offensive gameplan the team executed.

“We knew our guards were just a little better and they were a little bit quicker, and we could get to the basket,” Bear said. “Towards the end, it was kind of our guards to got a little jittery, a little careless off the ball.”

Surprise starter Nelson had a good first half as well — with his playing time coming at the expense of forward Victor Balderas, who played the last two minutes of the first half.

Bear said the strategy was to keep the team’s speed up and then bring in Balderas for a scoring punch off the bench.

It didn’t work perfectly — Balderas had a slow game, finishing with four points and two made shots. But the first half went smoothly as a whole and Meskwaki went into the break with a 26-17 advantage.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Grundy Center guard Brayden Sawyer (17 points) started the second half on fire with two 3-pointers in the first three minutes. He kept the pressure on the Warriors, and the Spartans crept within five points on one occasion. But key baskets from Roberts and Grant stopped the momentum Grundy Center was creating, and Meskwaki continued to make life difficult for the Spartan’s guards. Grant and Roberts scored 17 points each, with Nelson and Tiernan Wanatee scoring nine apiece.

Early in the fourth quarter, it felt as though the Warriors were pulling away for good, taking a 45-32 lead and then the 51-34 lead, the biggest of the game. But cracks started to show when the Spartans began fouling at the three-minute mark. Meskwaki committed a few turnovers it hadn’t throughout the entire game up to that point. The Warriors left 3-point shooters open and committed fouls that left Bear exasperated on the sideline. With 1:04 left in the game, Grant fouled out — leaving Meskwaki without its best ballhandler to navigate the press.

Free throws late from Roberts and Nelson sealed the game and pushed the Warriors on to Thursday night’s district final against West Fork. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg.

Meskwaki 62, Grundy Center 53

At Sheffield

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

GRUNDY CENTER (13-10) — Cale Hendricks 2 2-2 8, Dexter Whitehill 1 5-6 7, Jensen Clapp 2 0-0 4, Brayden Sawyer 5 3-5 17, Wes Willis 3 2-7 8, Cole Lehr 0 0-0 0, Dayne Zinkula 2 1-2 5, Zach Opheim 1 0-0 2, Nick Ascher 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 17 13-22 53.

MESKWAKI (18-4) — Larnell Velaquez 0 2-4 2, Emmett Roberts 6 4-8 17, Taurice Grant 7 3-5 17, Evan Nelson 2 4-6 9, Tiernan Wanatee 3 2-4 9, Osceola Tyon 2 0-0 4, Donovan Slick-Driscoll 0 0-2 0, Victor Balderas 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 22 13-27 62.

GRUNDY CTR. 5 12 13 23 — 53

MESKWAKI 12 14 17 19 — 62

3-Point Goals–GC 6 (Sawyer 4, Hendricks 2), Meskwaki 3 (Roberts, Nelson, Wanatee). Total Fouls–GC 23, Meskwaki 16. Fouled Out–Grant.