CARNEY — The Stephenson Eagles are Division 4 District 99 Title game bound as they defeated the Carney-Nadeau Wolves 53-40 Wednesday night in Carney.

“It was tough,” said Eagles head coach Christian Londo. “We’ve played Carney, this will be our fourth time now, and we won three of them (in the regular season). Again, they’re a tough team to play, especially playing here. It’s tough come district time, anything can happen.”

While the Eagles took control in the second half outscoring Carney 31-18, the game opened up with two entertaining quarters of basketball, with the Wolves and Eagles each gaining an advantage in the half.

First, it was Stephenson edging ahead 13-8 in the first as Griffin Brown, Spencer Coldren and Lluis Colomer Alloza combined for seven points in the latter half of the quarter compared to Carney’s two from Peyton Imhoff.

It looked as though the Eagles would pull away at the beginning of the second as they extended their lead to 16-10 within the first two minutes of the quarter.

However, Carney clawed back as Jerry Lee LaFord, Imhoff and Ashton Wandahsega put up a combined 8 points in a row to take the lead 18-16. The Wolves extended that lead to five points but the Eagles fought back, again, to make it a one-point game at the half with Carney up 23-22.

Zack Schwartz — the freshman down low — led Stephenson in scoring with 16 points as Brown and Coldren each had 12.

“For Zack Schwartz, as a freshman, (he has) just incredible poise. He really knows how to work his body down there. We got some things to work on with his footwork. But, again, he’s a phenomenal kid and good athlete,” said Londo. “Spencer, he’s only a junior, but he’s been on varsity since a freshman, so a lot of leadership there. He’s a really smart player and knows when to push the issue and push the tempo. He just played really well tonight.”

As they now prepare for North Central tonight, Londo looks at his team with pride and adoration.

“I absolutely love these guys and the fight in them. This is eight straight wins,” he said. “From going from a program three years ago that was 2-18, I took over last year, and it’s been a fun ride. I absolutely love this school and love these kids.”

It is only fitting that the two Wolves’ seniors — Jerry Lee LaFord and Peyton Imhoff — led their team in scoring in their final high school game. LaFord had 14, while Imhoff had 11.

Coach Mike Polfus reflected on what the pair — who were leaders of a young group of Wolves — have meant to the program after the game.

“Last year they were both big parts of something that’s only happened twice in school history, so they’ve meant a lot,” Polfus said. “To be big parts of a regional championship — we’ve had a lot of great teams and only have two regional titles — so for them to be a big part of that, that says a ton of things about them.”

As far as the game goes, Polfus was happy with how his team performed against the Eagles.

“The kids played hard. We were up one at the half,” he said. “I don’t know if we got deflated a little bit, maybe ran out of gas, but the kids played hard. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

“We came a long way (this year). The first two games against Stephenson we lost by 30, and we’re right here with them. We got a little gassed in the fourth quarter, but we were right in the game the whole time. I couldn’t be prouder of the kids.”

With the young talent of Wandahsega, Isiah and Elija Tillmon, Sam Salo and others, Polfus is already looking forward to next year.

“If they get in the gym and stuff like that, there is a lot of potential,” he said. “A lot of potential. There’s a lot of kids that can take a big leap if they put the work in in the summer so, hopefully, that’s the case.”

For Stephenson, they will meet the North Central Jets tonight in Powers for the MHSAA Division 4 District 99 Championship.

Stephenson 13 9 17 14 — 53

Carney-Nadeau 8 15 11 7 — 41

Stephenson — Schwartz 16, Brown 12, Coldren 12, Colomer Alloza 8, Kuehnau 5; FT: 11-18; Fouled out: Coldren.

Carney-Nadeau — LaFord — 14, Imhoff 11, Isiah Tillmon 7, Wandahsega 5, Salo 4; FT: 8-15; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: LaFord, Wandahsega, I. Tillmon.