Multiple games this season have been hard the heart of Adel-Desoto-Minburn Tigers boys basketball fans. During a four-game stretch in mid-January, ADM lost three of four games on the last possession of the contest in which the Tigers held the lead sometime during the fourth quarter. ADM had another close call Monday in the opener of the Class 3A Substate 7 against the North Polk Comets. A pair of free throws from sophomore Nate Mueller coupled with a defensive stop from senior Lucas Heitz helped the Tigers survived the Comets, 62-61. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network spoke with multiple ADM boys basketball players after the game about how close regular season losses impacted the team’s ability to win their postseason opener. Mueller felt those setbacks were good learning lessons for the squad. “We lost a lot of close games back in January for a big stretch where we couldn’t close games out,” Mueller said, “I think we learned from those lessons, and we stayed ahead tonight and got it done in the same situation.”

Junior Jaxson Milsap points to cleaner offensive execution as a reason for ADM escaping with a win over North Polk. “(We’re) taking smarter shots, (and) knocking free throws down late, (and) making the smart play,” Milsap said, “A bunch of us are underclassmen, and we learned to take care of the ball in the end.”

Monday’s victory advances ADM to tomorrow’s semifinal round against the second-seeded Gilbert Tigers. These two teams squared off at Gilbert High School in mid-December with ADM pulling out a 67-63 victory. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network will provide live play by play coverage of the substate semifinals between ADM and Gilbert on True Country K 107.9 FM, raccoonvalleyradio.com, and the KKRF mobile app. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. and tip-off set for 7 p.m.