It is going to be tough encounter for The Doniphan-Trumbull boys basketball considering how they played last time there.
The previous results between the two side was not too bad/ as Ogallala managed to secure win by 75-33 in the first month of the season.
Doniphan-Trumbull junior Parker Volk insisted that even though they lost the encounter, the results were not bad.
Volk said “They beat us pretty good last time, I think we’re a lot better of a team and we’ve changed a lot.”
The last time Doniphan-Trumbull basketball boys won in U.S was back then in 2014 and they will be hoping to replicate 2014 form once again.
According to the independent: Ogallala (24-1) is the No. 2 seed and Doniphan-Trumbull (18-6) is the No. 7 seed. The game is at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Even though the stake is too high, other players from Doniphan-Trumbull player will be hoping to give their opponent test of their own medicine.
Doniphan-Trumbull basketball junior Tregan Barnes remains confident that they have chance to revenge themselves after heavy defeat.
He said “It’s a good team to get our revenge on since we lost to them by 40, This year I feel like we’re more locked in than we have usually been.”
This is Doniphan-Trumbull’s fourth straight trip to the state tournament and fifth appearance in the past six years.
Doniphan-Trumbull coach Kelan Buhr weight in his thoughts/ suggestions about how his side will perform this time compare to the past years.
He said “You never get tired of going to state and qualifying for state, I would say this year is a lot different than some years past.
“We definitely wanted to make our schedule more difficult. I feel like we did that and it really created some growing pains through the season.
“Our kids aren’t used to losing that often, but ultimately as a coaching staff and athletic department we had looked at the body of work we put together the last three years or four or five years and just didn’t feel like we maybe had been tested during the season the way we needed to be.”
According to the publication: After a slow start, Doniphan-Trumbull has closed the season strong and has won nine of its past 10 games. The lone loss in that span was against Lincoln Lutheran, the No. 1 seed in the Class C-1 state tournament.
One of the senior from Doniphan-Trumbull basketball Ethan Ballard highlighted how the confidence molded them.
He said “It’s been really fun. The team’s playing really well and I think we’ve improved our defense a lot, because the first time we played Ogallala you could kind of tell that we weren’t there really defensively, or it looked that way at times.
“I think we’ve really stepped up our defense and we’re all communicating and we’re all on the same page.”
Doniphan-Trumbull basketball coach went on to express his desire for having players such as Jack Poppe, who had fantastic season.
Buhr said “Honestly I think this is probably the best he has felt health wise since going into football when he was a freshman.
“I know he’s having a ton of fun and the type of player he is, watching him grow up and seeing him in practice and for him to be able to go out and be under full power and for everybody else to see what he has to put on display is a lot of fun.”
Volk is the second leading scorer and leading rebounder with 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.
Coach Buhr when he gave his thoughts regarding his second top goalscorer(Volk), he highlighted that he(Volk) received support from senior players.
Buhr said “He’s definitely received a lot of extra attention and the big thing that we’ve talked to Parker about and our whole team even going into the district final, even going into the subdistrict tournament is that we need to keep getting better.”
But it’s not just those three who make an impact for Doniphan-Trumbull. The team is balanced which has helped in close games.
Buhr went to highlight how the impact of Tycen Bennett who is the third leading scorer in the camp this season with 11.6 points per game.
He said “Ty having a really good senior year has added another staple to it, but it’s created opportunities for guys like Tregan Barnes, Nate Collinson, Luke Askey, Ethan Ballard.
“Taylon Bennett has come in and done some things and our other seniors to round it out are Seth Schwarz and Tice Yost.
“As much attention as Jack and Parker and Ty receive, it creates opportunities for other kids.”
The preparation hasn’t changed leading into the biggest game of the season, but Doniphan-Trumbull is heading to Lincoln with experience at state and fuel to win its first game at the state tournament in over 10 years.
Poppe said “We know what to expect more and more every year and then this year we’ve played a lot tougher schedule, so I think that’s prepared us a lot more.”
BY LUCKY SEANEGO
