The BRLD Boys won 72-34 at home over Pender Friday night in the regular season finale before downing Omaha Nation 69-52 in the C2-4 Sub-District Semifinals at West Point-Beemer Tuesday night.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 19-6 lead after one before outscoring the Pendragons 26-10 in the second quarter to take a 45-16 lead into the locker room.
BRLD won the third quarter 20-11 to go up 65-27 at the end of three.
Both teams scored 7 points in the fourth quarter.
Darwin Snyder led the way with 14 points while Kenyan Lovejoy totaled 13. Aaron Ras added 11 while Cole Christofferson registered 7.
The Wolverines got out to a 19-6 lead on the Chiefs after one before outscoring Omaha Nation 15-12 in the second quarter to take a 34-18 lead into the locker room.
The Chiefs won the third quarter 20-19 to make it a 53-38 game at the end of three.
BRLD put up 16 points in the fourth quarter compared to 14 for Omaha Nation.
Cole Christofferson led the way with a team-high 14 points while Kenyan Lovejoy posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Aaron Ras added 12 points while Jaxon Johnson scored 10 points and secured 7 rebounds. Trent Gatewood chipped in 9 points.
Head Coach Cory Meyer says better execution is the reason for more kids in the scoring column. "I think the biggest difference in scoring is our players passing the ball around, seeing the floor, and attacking the bucket. When we can do that, we can definitely score more than usual."
Meyer adds the team's better play over their last two games can be credited to adjustments made.
"I think the players may have been in a little bit of a rut and experiencing some complacency. So we mixed things up in practice and even shortened our practices a little. The players seemed to be more upbeat about things and it's definitely nice to see again."
The Wolverines (15-10) face Ponca (22-4) in the Sub-District Final Thursday night.
The Indians downed Wakefield 61-38 in the Semifinals Tuesday night.
Ponca beat BRLD 48-43 on the road in the regular season.
Meyer says there are things his team needs to do better this time around, but things are positive heading into this game. "I think losing to Ponca by 5 points our first time around should give our kids a lot of confidence. Ponca does a great job of getting to the hoop and finishing, and we need to do our best to prevent that from happening. We did a good job of this in our previous matchup but gave up several fast break layups, and they had a couple of their players come off the bench and step up big time for them and ultimately made the difference in the game."
Meyer adds his team needs to let it rip, although it won't be easy. "There is typically an advantage to the losing team first time around, but Ponca is ranked for a reason. They fly around and play good fundamental basketball. They play in your face man defense, rebound well, and run the floor. Our players need to play like their is nothing to lose and take it at them like I think we can. If we can take care of the ball and limit our turnovers, I think we can play with them like we did last time around."
This is do or die for the Wolverines, and BRLD needs to play out of their minds if they hope to upset Ponca, in my opinion.
I feel the Wolverines have a legit shot to win, but the Indians know they can ill afford to slip up if they want to ensure themselves a trip to state.
BRLD has been good at times this season, and I feel the Wolverines are playing their best basketball of the season right now.
I look for BRLD to play a tremendous game Thursday night and give Ponca and they want and can handle.
There are a handful of seniors on this team, and I'm sure the Wolverines would like to go out with their last game being played in Lincoln.
This is going to be a real challenge for BRLD without a doubt, but to be the best you have to beat the best.
The Wolverines have to play the way they have lately, and let it all hang out Thursday night.
Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
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