That stunning defeat of Wayne on Friday night? Just 24 hours later all that euphoria had dissipated following a 72-60 wake-up loss to visiting Trotwood-Madison.

“We had the mindset that we had to forget about (Friday’s) game,” conceded Springfield junior guard Henry Alexander after the Wildcats suffered their first boys high school basketball loss on Saturday night.

“We had to go in there and do what we’re disciplined to do, what we practice to do. We kind of shied away from it, though.”

That will happen to teams that play Trotwood-Madison (2-0) this season.

Still, to split this weekend’s games against two of the Greater Western Ohio Conference’s best programs is somewhat of a victory for the Wildcats.

Springfield (3-1) is in the third season with favorite-son Isaiah Carson as head coach. Despite the Trotwood setback, if they hadn’t already, the Wildcats have served notice they’re a player in this conference. A 65-62 defeat of Wayne will do that.

“The kids are doing a good job,” Carson said. “They’re getting better every year. We’re pretty much junior-oriented now. Most of these kids have been in the system two, three, four years. That definitely makes a difference. They’re not pups anymore.”

It was fitting that Alexander, Da’Shon Cordell and Derick Yarbrough all had 11 points to lead the Wildcats in this GWOC Basketball Showcase that featured boys/girls doubleheaders throughout the conference on Saturday and today.

All three are guards on a team chock full of potential points, all of whom seem to have no problem sharing offense-igniting responsibility. The wild card of the bunch, 6-foot-2 freshman guard Daniel Davis, had seven points and missed much of the game with foul trouble. He’s among the team’s leading scorers.

“(Davis) did some good things while he was in there,” Carson said, “but foul trouble killed him.”

So did a 37-22 halftime deficit. Credit Springfield for not folding under Trotwood’s relentless defensive pressure. That resulted in a game-deciding 26 turnovers committed by the Cats.

“We didn’t do a good job of coming off that emotional high and we didn’t do a good job defensively,” Carson said. “With 26 turnovers, you’re never going to win a ball game. You gotta give Trotwood credit. Those guys came out and they were relentless on us.”

Springfield will be looking to apply those lessons at Northmont in Friday’s next game. Last Tuesday’s game at Piqua was postponed and has not been rescheduled yet.