The last time Strong qualified for the regional tournament, the Bulldogs also reached the state tournament.
Strong hopes to take the first step tonight when they open play in the 8-1A District Tournament, which is being hosted by Nevada.
The Bulldogs (11-8) are the No. 4 seed and face the winner of Monday’s showdown between No. 5 seed Hampton and No. 8 seed Friendship Aspire Academy with a spot in the regional tournament at stake.
Game time is set for 7:45 p.m.
The Bulldogs have been on a roll down the stretch, winning six straight games that included handing conference champion Nevada their lone loss in league play.
Dermott snapped Strong’s winning streak with a 75-68 win in the regular-season finale on Feb. 2.
“We’ve been playing well down the stretch,” Strong coach Alex Howell said. “We’re in a pretty good groove and starting to play well at the right time of the year, so hopefully we can take that momentum into the tournament.”
A year ago, the Bulldogs hosted the district tournament, but saw their season end in this spot with a loss to Bearden.
“This is the exact same game,” Howell said. “We’ve got a lot more chemistry than we had with the group from last year. I think we’re a little more locked in and focused. We’ve had a week off to get ready and get everybody healthy. Hopefully we can handle our business and move on to the next round.”
Strong split with Hampton with each team winning at home, and should this matchup occur, Howell said slowing down Deandre Smith will be a key.
“They’ve got a good player (Smith) that you really have to pay attention to,” Howell said. “He can flat out score the basketball. He has an IQ for the game. That’s one player you definitely have to worry about. They play hard and they’re well-coached.”
Howell also noted that Strong was not at full strength in their first meeting in December.
“We had guys that just came in the second semester,” Howell said. “A lot of the games that we lost in the first semester, we didn’t have our full team. Once we got everybody back, we’ve been rolling. I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.”
The Bulldogs swept the Warriors, winning the second game in lopsided fashion.
“They’re scrappy,” Howell said. “They’re smaller on the interior.”
Howell said there was one key to the Bulldogs’ success down the stretch.
“Our defense,” Howell said. “We’ve been playing really good defense. We’ve been moving the ball well.
“Everybody’s been touching the ball. We’ve been playing with energy, we’ve been getting out in transition a lot.
“During our winning streak, we were probably averaging almost 70, 75 points per game, so we were getting out and running a lot and our transition offense played a big part in it.”
Howell added that he moved up one freshman, Dexter Howard, to aid the Bulldogs in the postseason.
“He’s a good shooter,” Howell said. “I’m trying to get him acclimated to the high school speed.”
If Strong is to reach the regional tournament for the first time in three years, Howell said there was one key for his team.
“Rebounding,” Howell said. “If we can control the glass, we’ll be fine. That’s one of the things we’re emphasizing going into this matchup. If we can control the glass, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”