The Dike-New Hartford boys basketball team will continue its postseason by facing NICL-Central opponent Denver for the third time this season in a District 11 semifinal.
The Wolverines (13-10) advanced with Monday’s 70-47 home win over Columbus Catholic, where they shot a sizzling 59 percent to pull away for the win. With only eight turnovers committed, it was possibly the most crisp performance of the season. Head Coach Alex Tagtow says maintaining consistency in a road environment will be paramount.
“We’re not changing a whole lot or doing things that are kind of out of the system for us or out of character for us,” Tagtow says. “It’s just dialing in that consistency, and it’s both ends of the floor. It kind of feeds off each other. When we’re flying around on defense, we shoot it a little bit better. And when we shoot it better, that gives us more juice on defense. So we’ve got to keep that going and keep that confidence high in our guys that when the ball finds them, they can let it rip and that it’s gonna go in. So we do that, I think we’ll be in really good shape.”
Denver (18-4) is the top seed in the district, and will begin the playoffs after a first round bye. Talan Lafrentz leads with 21.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting to counteract Colin Meester’s 18.9 per game. The Cyclones swept the regular season series, winning 56-54 at home and 65-56 on the road.
The tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m. inside the Cyclone Center. The winner will advance to Tuesday’s district final against either Alburnett or Union.
