Prairie boys hoops nabs 29 seed for tournament

Prairie boys basketball’s final month of the regular season proved pivotal in its drive toward the state tournament.

And, with a 60-35 win over Weldon Valley in the Class 1A District 4 tournament last week, the Mustangs fell into the field of 32 as determined by CHSAA’s Selection and Seeding Index, proving they deserve to keep dancing further into the postseason.

On Friday, they will begin their regionals bid as the No. 29 seed and will face off with No. 4 Stratton. The Mustangs enter the contest with a 7-14 record, most wins of which were acquired in February.

Prairie began its season with two wins in the first three games, then sharply fell off a cliff with the 10 straight losses that followed. February turned the tides for the Mustangs, starting with a 66-37 win against North Park.

That single victory served as the catalyst for the next eight contests, as the Mustangs defeated Caliche

(47-38), Lone Star (4434), Weldon Valley (57-18) and Weldon Valley again (60-35) in the three weeks that followed.

They began their district tournament with the latter win against Weldon Valley before facing tough competition from Fleming — who earned the No. 13 seed in the regional tournament — and ending their district run with a 58-43 loss.

Senior Brock Dollerschell has been the boon of Prairie’s offense throughout that winning stretch, netting 12.3 points per game in comparison to the likes of senior Claytin Hove (8.1 points per game) and sophomore Carter Jaeger (5.3 points per game). Jaeger has taken the rebounding lead with 5.5 board per game.

Prairie will tip off with Stratton at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and the Mustangs will face tough competition from the 15-7 Eagles. They’ll have to find a way to shut down Cyler Notter, who’s been averaging 15.7 points per game, if they hope to pull off the upset.