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Coach Paul Beranek says there is something special about his Ravenna basketball team.
The 23-1 Bluejays had their share of blowout wins, but they also won 10 games by 10 points or less, including overtime victories over Centura, Gibbon and Adams Central.
"We've had three overtime games where we came out on top," Beranek said. "They just have a quality about them. They just want to find a way to win. It's nothing the coaches have done. It's just something inside of them that clicked. We're happy to have that competitive edge."
The Bluejays will test that competitive edge when they open the Class C-2 state tournament against Perkins County (13-9) at 2 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Southeast High School.
Ravenna won the Class C-2 state title in 2005, then finished second in 2006. Those teams featured such future players as Drake Beranek (Nebraska-Kearney), Tyler Cyboron (Doane) and Justin Kulwicki (Midland Lutheran).
Paul Beranek said those players had great basketball skills, but this year's team is more athletic.
"If you acquaint athletic ability with speed and the ability to jump and so forth, this group is hands down probably better than any group I've had," Beranek said.
The Bluejays return three players with some state tournament experience. Senior Greg Nissen and junior Adam Mingus played reserve roles in 2005, while senior Aaron Habe also saw some action off the bench.
Nissen, a 6-foot-6 center, leads Ravenna at 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Seniors Josh Deienes (10.3) and Aaron Habe (10.2) and junior Adam Mingus (10.2) are also in double figures.
One thing is for sure. The Bluejays will be running the floor when they take on Perkins County.
"We want a fast pace," Beranek said. "We want to get up and down the court, pressure full court and make them make decisions that they're not used to making at a high pace.
"The other concern is if they get up, they might milk the clock, so our goal is to get ahead right away."
Beranek certainly won't hesitate to use his bench. The Bluejays will go nine deep, and won't hesitate to go 10 or 11 if needed.
"We've been fortunate enough and we've stuck to our guns about going deep on the bench," Beranek said. "Our first sub is three guys and the next is probably three or sometimes four guys."
Beranek doesn't have any worries about the top-seeded Bluejays being overconfident heading into the tournament against a team that was 10-9 heading into post season play.
Beranek said long-time Perkins County coach Larry Pritchett will have his team ready to play.
"The No. 1 thing is they're an over-achieving team," Beranek said. "That's to the credit of their mentor, a guy who has won about eight bazillion games in Pritchett. They'll know how to get in position to win."
Beranek also wants to make sure his team hits the defensive boards hard. That's something the didn't do early in the district final against Axtell.
"The first half they scored a majority of their points on second and third shots," Beranek said. "We did a better job in the second half against them. I think everybody understands that they can maybe go to the glass on us and we have to make sure we take care of that."
Ravenna (23-1)
Player H Y PPG RPG
Eric Johnson 5-11 Jr. 5.1 1.3
John Klosterman 6-0 Jr. 1.2 0.2
Aaron Habe 5-10 Sr. 10.2 2-7
Josh Crowell 5-9 So. 0.8 0.4
Trevin Chramosta 6-4 Sr. 2.6 1.9
Josh Deines 6-1 Sr. 10.3 6.0
Riley Beranek 6-2 So. 1.4 0.5
Kelly Basnett 5-7 Sr. 2.4 2.0
Adam Mingus 5-11 Jr. 10.2 6.1
Brett Douglas 6-0 So. 0.8 1.0
Ethan Zoerb 5-10 So. 0.3 0.5
Jordan Chizek 6-2 Sr. 9.1 3.3
Sean Payne 6-4 So. 1.9 2.2
Greg Nissen 6-6 Sr. 14.7 7.0
Head coach: Paul Beranek
Assistant coaches: Tony Schirmer, Randy Basnett, James Habe
NSAA enrollment: 118
Conference: Lou-Platte
State appearances: 22
Most recent: 2006
State championship years: D/1918, C/1921, B/1922, C-2/2005
State runner-up years: C-2/2006
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