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TJ Vore

Blue Valley Northwest senior guard Max Johnson (2) defends a Blue Valley Southwest player during the second half of the Huskies matchup with Blue Valley Southwest at BVSW Feb. 2. The Huskies defeated the Timberwolves, 67-18.

The Huskies came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in their EKL matchup on the road against the Blue Valley Southwest Timberwolves. On Friday night, the boys basketball team was able to continue their early success and dominate the rest of the game.

BVNW opened the game with a quick 3-pointer by senior guard Max Johnson. Senior Sam Ward followed with a 3-pointer of his own with 6:30 left in the first quarter. Head coach Ed Fritz said his team saw success early on in part because the Timberwolves attempted to guard the paint.

“It seems like they really came in and packed it in on us to start the game, especially first couple quarters,” Fritz said. “So we had a lot of wide open shots.”

After a quick start by the Huskies, it did not take long for one BVNW senior to emerge as an offensive and defensive threat in the game. After knocking down a free throw earlier in the quarter, senior forward Joe Pleasant was able to make his presence felt after senior guard Sam Ward threw a lob to Pleasant for an alley-oop.

In the second quarter, Pleasant was able to open the quarter with an and-one on a layup and two free throws after getting fouled. Pleasant said he was able use his size and athleticism to get what he wanted offensively.

With the help of Pleasant, BVNW had a commanding lead in the second quarter. Instead of trying to score a lot of points individually, the Huskies worked the ball around the perimeter and were able to find open players which often resulted in dunks or layups. After a lot of ball movement, Pleasant said the team has hit their stride.

“I think we’re at the point where we’re starting to click right now,” Pleasant said. “We’re really moving the ball well, getting everybody good looks. Everybody’s getting touches. Everyone flows off one another.”

After putting on a clinic in the first half, BVNW had a 34-8 lead over BVSW going into the half. However, the Huskies would not let up here.

The third quarter for BVNW featured multiple highlights offensively. Not only were the Huskies able to move the ball as they did in the first half, junior guard Christian Braun and Ward made some flashy passes that resulted in easy finishes for the rest of the team.

With 4:28 left in the third quarter, Braun drove the lane and did a no-look pass to hit his brother, senior forward Parker Braun, for a 3-pointer in the corner. Shortly after, Ward was able to save a pass from going out of bounds by tipping it over his head back to Pleasant for a dunk. Braun said the passes were made easy by his teammates’ ability to get open.

“It was really easy because Parker and Joe were doing a really good job of getting open and, so it all flowed pretty well,” Braun said. “Sam threw some pretty good passes, and we were all just clicking off that.”

Late in the third quarter, the starters were subbed out as BVNW had a 55-10 lead. Pleasant finished with a double-double for the night.

The bench was able to tack on more points in the fourth quarter which led to a 67-18 victory for the Huskies.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 10-4 on the season, and will go on the road to face Bishop Miege on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.