All season Flintridge Prep head basketball coach Robert Cartwright emphasized the importance of setting the tone after the halftime break.

On Friday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs, Flintridge Prep heard the message and delivered a resounding 72-44 win over Wilson

Flintridge Prep advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinals, where it will be home against St. Bonaventure.

“I think we’ve done a really good job of coming out with urgency in the second half,” Cartwright said. “We’ve done a good job early in the second, especially when the games are close. That goes to how well they understand the importance of the first four minutes of the second half.”

After Wilson neutralized Flintridge Prep’s considerable size for much of the first half, the Wolves’ length began to take its toll on the Wildcats. Flintridge Prep dominated the offensive glass in the third quarter and as a result, blew the game wide open.

Flintridge Prep took a seven-point halftime lead and it turned into a 17-point lead going to the fourth-quarter.

The Wolves; duo of forwards Geoffrey Stetson and Andrew Jordan were the main catalysts, finishing with 16 points apiece.

Flintridge Prep outscored Wilson 16-7 in the third quarter and led 51-34 heading into the final quarter.

The Wolves finished with four players in double figures — Stetson, Jordan, center Henry Morrison (11 points) and Theo Kuo (10 points off the bench).

“Our length is an advantage,” Cartwright said. “When we play smaller teams, we have to continue to pound inside and thankfully we did that tonight.”

Justin Kayode was one of the few bright spots for the Wildcats as he finished with a team-high 11 pts on 5-of-9 shooting.

Kayode paced the wildcats early in the first quarter with five points, including a deep three pointer that gave Wilson an early 5-1 lead. Wilson maintained a five-point lead for much of the first quarter as Flintridge Prep struggled to hit shots.

Wilson’s inability to take care of the basketball carried over into the second quarter as they turned the ball over six times and 14 times in the first half. Just like in the first quarter, the Wildcats’ string of turnovers directly led to the Wolves’ offensive outburst to end the first half.

Ernie Jimenez and Aaron Hou’s combined 12 second-quarter points was not enough to counter the Wolves’ much improved three-point shooting in the second quarter. Flintridge Prep shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-8). Wolves’ guard Theo Kou poured in seven points, including two threes, off the bench to give the Wolves a seven-point lead — the largest lead up until that point — into halftime, 35-27.

“Turnovers are key and that’s in any game,” Wilson head basketball coach Willie Allen said. “That’s tough for us and I think we had three or four to start the second half and those are crucial.”

Kayode scored just two second-half points as the Wolves switched a longer defender to guard the freshman point guard.

Allen said that was the key defensive adjustment the Wolves made in the second half to limit Kayode.

Seven third-quarter points by Wilson doomed the Wildcats and saw Flintridge Prep blow the game wide open in the third quarter before the Wolves cruised to a 28-point win.

Wilson’s season ends in the second round, but the Wildcats finish the season with its first playoff appearance since 2019.