Postseason basketball won’t start until later this month, but it felt like playoff action inside the Christian School Gym Monday night.

Sixth-rated Aberdeen Christian rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to capture a 65-58 overtime win against Hitchcock-Tulare in non-conference boys’ basketball action.

“It was an earned win for sure,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “(Hitchcock-Tulare) played really well. …  But, I’m proud of our guys for keeping their heads at least enough to win that game.”

The Knights, who were down 51-38 with six minutes left in regulation, made a furious comeback down the stretch. While there were many key moments, perhaps none was bigger than a Brooks Jett 3-pointer out of the corner with 1:54 remaining with the Knights trailing 54-49.

“We needed a shot, so I was like I’ll shoot this, I know I can make it, so I’ll let it fly,” Jett said. “I think it’s going to go in every time I shoot.”

From there, Jett tied the game at 54-54 on an offensive rebound and Christian led briefly on a basket from Loyall Smith-Wade before Devin Enander scored on a drive to tie the game. The Knights were unable to connect on their last possession of regulation and the contest went to overtime.

Christian dominated the extra session, outscoring the Patriots 9-2. Dylan Hofer and Luke Kaiser each scored four points for the Knights. Meanwhile, Hitchcock-Tulare managed just two foul shots.

“It was kind of the same thing that happened with Wolsey-Wessington,” Jett said of Christian’s other overtime win this season. “We came all the way back. It was pretty much the same scenario. We just come out, we’re fired up, ready to go, and it really helps us in overtime.”

Hitchcock-Tulare set the tone early, building a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and leading for all but less than a minute in regulation.

“First off, proud of our team’s effort. I didn’t necessarily challenge them, but we’ve been waiting to put 32 minutes of ball game together and tonight I thought we did that,” said Patriots coach Cody Marzahn. “And credit to Aberdeen Christian to making plays and making that run to come back, too.”

Enander repeatedly broke down the Christian defense by getting into the paint or kicking out to open teammates for 3-point shots. The junior playmaker said that chemistry comes from hours spent working together.

“Just practice and staying after in the gym, playing with all the guys in the summer,” Enander said, “knowing that we have a connection throughout, whether I drive and I pass it out, someone’s open at the 3-point line.”

The Patriots were able to get out in transition for layups on the way to building a lead.

“They’re obviously fast,” Jett said. “We were playing undisciplined and not doing our assignments, so we get really beat when teams go fast, so we’re going to have to lock that in for playoffs.”

After leading by four at the half, Hitchcock-Tulare rebuilt a double-digit advantage in the second half, only to watch the Knights rally down the stretch.

“Slowing down the game really just changed it for us,” Enander said of playing more conservatively. “We just weren’t adjusting as fast as we were early on.”

It was a night where little things turned into big things as both sides had chances to walk out with a victory.

“That’s the message for the guys, too. For our team we keep preaching little things,” Marzahn said. “In a game like tonight, it’s easy to look back and say one thing, this or that, but it’s combination of just taking care of the little things throughout the game, and hopefully you’re on the right side of it at the end.”

Jett was pleased that his team was able to pull out the hard-fought win.

“I’m really happy that our team buckled down and got over it,” he said, “because there was a little adversity.”

Enander led Hitchcock-Tulare with 19 points, and Deegan Moes followed with 18.

Enander said facing Christian is always an enjoyable experience.

“This is always a fun game,” he said, “because I’ve got three AAU teammates (Hofer, Jett and Kaiser) that I play with in the summer.”

Jett had a big game, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and four steals. Smith-Wade contributed 12 points off the bench.

The Knights, 15-2 on the season, play at Langford Area tonight. Rohrbach knows his team is going to get each opponent’s best effort each time out.

“You should want that. You don’t want to be middle of the pack,” Rohrbach said. “You want to be at the top and be the best team, and be the one people want to beat.”

HITCHCOCK-TULARE (7-11): Logan LaBrie 2 3-4 7, Deegan Moes 7 1-2 18, Devin Enander 7 3-8 19, Preston Wipf 3 0-1 6, Patrick Maynard 3 0-0 8. Totals 22-40 7-15 58.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (15-2): Jett Johnson 1 0-0 2, Dylan Hofer 4 0-1 8, Grady Jett 1 0-0 2, Luke Kaiser 4 2-2 11, Brooks Jett 9 1-3 22, Loyall Smith-Wade 5 0-0 12, Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez 0 1-2 1, Charles Eichler 2 2-6 7. Totals 26-56 6-14 65.

Hitchcock-Tulare 24 30 47 56 58

Aberdeen Christian 12 26 36 56 65

3-point field goals – Moes 3, Maynard 2; Kaiser, B. Jett 3, Smith-Wade 2, Eicher. Fouled out – Maynard. Total fouls – Hitchcock-Tulare 14; Aberdeen Christian 15. Rebounds – Hitchcock-Tulare 20 (Wipf 8); Aberdeen Christian 36 (B. Jett 12). Turnovers – Hitchcock-Tulare 13; Aberdeen Christian 18. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 10 (Hofer 3, B. Jett 3). Blocked shots – Aberdeen Christian 4 (B. Jett 3). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 12 (Hofer 4, B. Jett 4).