Ada-Borup's Joel Merkens and Lance Ruebke matched each other's performances of 14 points to lead the Cougars past No. 8-ranked Waubun 67-36 Thursday in Ada.
The first round victory pits No. 1-ranked Ada-Borup (21-5) against Park Christian in Saturday's section 6, class 1A quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. at Concordia's Memorial Auditorium.
The Cougars surged on a 9-0 run, executing on three Waubun turnovers committed within the first two minutes. Ada-Borup would then use an 18-6 run to further the lead before holding a 41-21 lead at half, and it never looked back once the 20-point advantage was reached.
Ada-Borup's defense was clicking on the perimeter and in the paint, and it's something it needs to carry over into Saturday's game if it hopes to outdo No. 4-ranked Park Christian after getting beat by the Falcons from inside and out on Jan. 31.
"We need to be more physical, both inside and on the perimeter come Saturday. That's where we got beat when we played (Park Christian) earlier this year," Ada-Borup coach Trevor Stewart said. "Park likes to play fast and utilize its athletes, so do we... It should be a good one."
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