Fans and spectators could actually see the exact moment when things began to click for the Bainbridge High boys varsity water polo team during last week’s game against Stadium High.

It wasn’t hard to miss, since it happened almost immediately in the second half.

“It’s like they started to just honestly realize stuff in the middle of the game,” said Spartan Head Coach Jacob Millican.

The final score of the match was 14-9 BHS, a victory which advanced the team’s season league record to 3-4.

The team came from an almost immediate points deficit early in the first quarter to mount a slight comeback late in the second, before coming back hard early in the third to take and maintain the lead until the end.

This year’s Spartan squad, which had so far been struggling their way through a 4-6 overall season, showed improved cohesion and communication in the pool and played exponentially better every single quarter of Thursday’s game.

“They were playing kind of how they’ve been playing,” he said. “Then, something clicked for them.”

It was obviously a turning point for the young team, Millican said.

Now, however, will come the real test.

Millican laughed when asked how he intended to make sure the team, having apparently turned a corner, could continue to play to their full potential.

“Pray,” he answered.

The win at home coming at this point in the season — with just under a month left before regional playoffs begin — will be a much-needed confidence booster for the young team, Millican said.

“You always try to explain, OK this drill, or this whatever, is applicable to this,” he said. “Now that they’ve actually seen it, I think it will be easier during the drills for them to make that connection and then implement it in the game.”