Steamboat Springs — A quick glance at the end of the first quarter of the Steamboat Springs boys basketball team’s Friday afternoon game against Summit bore an eerie resemblance to the Thursday disaster that cast the Sailors into the consolation bracket of their own tournament.

Steamboat sat, tied at 12 after one quarter in both games, having given up leads and missed opportunities to expand the advantage in either.

That’s were the resemblances ended, however.

Despite the tight first quarter, Steamboat dominated Summit across the court and ended the night with a dominating 70-41 victory.

“We had good intensity and came into the game much more prepared mentally,” Steamboat coach Luke DeWolfe said. “We especially had great defensive intensity. We did what we needed to do.”

The win set the Sailors up to play at 12:45 p.m. today for fifth place against Green River. The game, originally scheduled for 11:45 a.m., was moved back an hour to accommodate juniors and seniors taking the ACT test in Steamboat in the morning.

The Sailors proved smart enough to handle Summit. Steamboat wilted Thursday against a set of quick guards and a half-court trap. The Tigers were ill-equipped to play a similar defense, however, and the Sailors fared much better against a less aggressive look.

Nelson Brassell, in particular, found room to operate. The 6-foot-6 Steamboat senior led all scorers with 24 points and was at his best in a 10-point, five-rebound second quarter.

He sank a 3-point shot to open the period, then put back an offensive rebound to establish a 19-14 lead. He made one free throw after coming down with another offensive rebound moments later and scored on an assist from Alex Wood near the end of the quarter.

He dropped in one final bucket before the half to give Steamboat an 8-point lead at the break.

“We did a very nice job working it inside,” DeWolfe said. “Even when it was tied (at 12), we felt we were doing the right things. Our shots just weren’t falling. I told the team to keep its confidence and eventually we started rolling.”

That momentum continued to pick up through the third quarter, and Steamboat finally blew the game open early in the fourth.

Austin Hinder, who finished second on the team with 12 points, scored on another assist from Wood, then again on a pass from sophomore Charles Wood. He added two more quick baskets in the fourth quarter.

Alex Wood was a rebounding force throughout the game and scored all 6 of his points in the second half.

Thursday’s game “was a good learning experience,” Charles Wood said. “We slowed it down a lot better. It helped that they didn’t press.”

Steamboat combined those offensive outbursts with a backbreaking defense.

It allowed just 4 points in the fourth quarter. It all added up to give the team a chance at a winning record in the tournament.

“We came out and played like we could play instead of playing worried,” Wood said. “It felt different this time. We got the momentum and we played with more intensity. Now we need to keep that intensity up. We can’t fall apart again.”