Every day, the Wellsville-Middletown boys basketball team looks forward to the morning practice sessions that start at 5:30 a.m.

“It gets the kids really wanting to play and there are no distractions,” W-M coach Steve Lasman said. “We have the gym and there are custodians running around outside of the gym. The kids run wind sprints right after we get on the floor. Our kids are great. They don’t complain.”

The early-morning practices paid off for the Tigers this season as they turned in a memorable season that included a fourth-place finish at the Class 1 state tournament, a district championship and a 20-8 record.

“Our kids played their butts off,” Lasman said. “They play hard. They always do. That’s why I love them.”

The Tigers bounced back from an 0-2 start to finish with their second straight winning season. They also surpassed last year’s win total of 19.

W-M qualified for the Final Four for the first time in 35 years after beating North Shelby 66-59 in the Class 1 state quarterfinals on March 5 at Truman State University. A year ago, the Tigers lost to Salisbury in double overtime in the Class 1 state quarterfinals to come up one win short of going to the Final Four.

W-M lost both of its Final Four games in overtime. The Tigers fell 45-40 to eventual runner-up Stanberry in the semifinals on March 11 and dropped 50-45 to St. Elizabeth in the third-place game the following day. It’s the fifth time in program history the Tigers placed in the top four at state.

Seniors Issac Seabaugh and Keaton Mayes were the Tigers’ top players all season long. Seabaugh led the team in scoring (13.5 points per game) and rebounds (6.7 boards per game). Mayes averaged six points and three rebounds per game. Both were named to the all-Eastern Missouri Conference team.

W-M also had strong seasons from juniors Logan Pursifull and Dylan Alsop and freshman Carson Huff. Pursifull averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game, Huff scored 8.5 points per contest and Alsop was the team’s top free-throw shooter at 75 percent (12 for 16).

Defense was one of the keys to the Tigers’ outstanding season. W-M gave up less than 40 points 13 times this season.

Lasman said defense was the main thing his team works on during its early-morning practices.

“We practiced an hour and 40 minutes on defense,” the W-M coach said. “We very rarely practice offense. We know what we have to do. We have to play defense. It has carried us the whole season.”

After starting their season with back-to-back losses to Mexico and Bowling Green, the Tigers won seven games in a row, including a 36-24 win over Montgomery County in the Pink Out game on Dec. 17.

W-M won the Keytesville Tournament championship for the second year in a row by topping Higbee 67-60 in the finals on Jan. 29. Almost a month later, the Tigers beat Higbee 38-34 in the District 10 championship game at Pilot Grove.
W-M also finished 5-4 in EMO play. Besides the win over Montgomery County, the Tigers also beat Silex, Bowling Green, Van-Far and Mark Twain.