All four teams are playing well but it will take a special effort to knock off Amherst in the FKC. Real special.

Tonight at Minden the boys semifinals of the Fort Kearny Conference tournament will be contested with Amherst a pretty hefty favorite to win the championship. The top-seeded Broncos (16-3) will play No. 4 seed Elm Creek (11-7) at 6 p.m., followed by No. 2 Loomis (15-3) and No. 3 Ansley/Litchfield (13-4) getting after it, with tip-off at about 7:45.

After opening with seven straight wins Class C-2 Amherst suffered a three-game losing streak around the holidays, though they came against some pretty hefty competition, including Kearney Catholic (19-1), Hastings St. Cecilia (15-5) and Wood River (16-3), the latter by just four points. Within the Fort Kearny the Broncos have stampeded the competition, having beaten tournament two-seed Loomis by 25 points and No. 4 Ansley/Litchfield by 15.

Funny thing about that. Things have changed for Loomis and Ansley/Litchfield since then, with Loomis now on an 11-game winning streak and the Spartans having won nine of their last 11. Elm Creek? The Buffaloes will be a substantial underdog tonight but have won three of their last four and are playing good ball.

Should be a fun time tonight at the school Donnie Miller built.

“We have played pretty well most of the season, starting strong, then knowing the holiday tournament was going to be a grind,” says Amherst head coach Eric Rippen, whose team picked up those Kearney Catholic and St. Cecilia losses at the Stars’ holiday tournament. “After the Wood River loss we had to dig deep and really take a look in the mirror after those games and reevaluate ourselves and adjust some things. We learned from those losses and I think we have done a good job since then but have to continue to get better heading into this weekend and with districts coming up.”

Here is Coach Rippen’s take on the players in his team’s rotation:

Starters

Scout Simmons, 6-2 junior point guard. “Scout is like the QB of our team. He really gets us into what we are doing and controls the game for us. He is a kid who on most other teams could get you 15 a night but for us he is more likely to get 10 assists because we have plenty of other scoring options.” Averages eight points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals per game.

Tayje Hadwiger, 6-4 sophomore forward. “Tayje is our do-it-all player. He is a very high IQ kid who really understands the game and can score it at all three levels. Tayje is a willing passer and also a good rebounder, the player who really can get us going.” Averages 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots per game.

Ethan Eloe, 5-11 senior shooting guard. “Ethan is a great shooter and great defender. People look to take advantage of his size a lot but he doesn’t ever back down, and loves the challenge. He can be scoreless and then all of a sudden explode for 10 points in the blink of an eye.” Averages 10 points, three steals per game.

Josh Klingelhoefer, 6-5 senior center. “Josh has been the biggest blessing to our team. He has been a wrestler his whole life and comes from a wrestling family and even wrestled the first three years of high school, then decided to come out for basketball this year. He has really come along nicely for us and has been a big difference maker on defense. You wouldn’t be able to tell he was a wrestler by watching him on the court, that’s for sure.” Averages seven points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots per game.

Nolan Eloe, 6-0 junior shooting guard. “Nolan is a very explosive athlete. Like his brother (Ethan) he is a very good shooter but he is also somebody who can attack you and get to the rim. Nolan is also the kid who we usually put on the other team’s best player as he really likes that challenge.” Averages 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals per game.

Off the Bench

Austin Adelung, 5-10 sophomore point guard. “Austin is a knock down shooter - if you leave him open there is a good chance it is going in. He is also a very high IQ kid who makes smart plays and will make you pay if you try to just take away his shooting.” Averages nine points and three assists per game, shooting 40% from beyond the arc.

Reilly Fisher, 6-0 junior shooting guard. “Reilly is a kid who we bring in to play solid defense and his hustle really energizes our team. He is a capable scorer when given the opportunity but really gets after you defensively and knows to make the right plays.”

Carter Riessland, 6-3 sophomore forward. “Carter is a kid who we know will give 110% effort on the court. He is a very good rebounder for his size and isn’t scared to step in and take a charge. We love Carter’s energy that he brings to the team.”

* Since its three-game losing streak Amherst has won nine in a row, so those adjustments sure seem to have worked. The most recent of those nine wins was a 73-39 victory over Hi-Line in the quarterfinals, with Elm Creek having advanced with a 53-45 win over No. 5 seed Sumner-Eddyville-Miller. Amherst and Elm Creek have not yet me this regular season, but will turn around and play in the first game after the tournament.

“I love conference tourney week,” says Coach Rippen. “You always face some good competition, which is always fun, and kind of gives you a state tourney feel where you have to be locked in all week, and we know we are going to get everyone’s best shot. And, really, during this tourney you can throw records out the window because we all know each other so well anyone can be beat on any given night.”

The boys championship game of the FKC will be played Saturday at Minden, tip-off at 6 p.m.

* Amherst (15-5) is also the top seed in the Fort Kearny girls bracket and won its way into the championship game with Thursday’s’ 57-30 win over No. 4 seed Overton. The Lady Broncos will face No. 3 seed Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (14-5), which beat Pleasanton, 40-32, in their Thursday semifinal game.

We also have a little circle of life thing working with this finals pairing, as SEM reached the championship game by avenging earlier losses to Ansley/Litchfield (quarterfinals) and Pleasanton (semifinals) while Amherst comes into the game having won 10 of its last 11 games, the lone loss coming to...you know what’s coming...SEM.

To quote the great poet Alanis Morissette, isn’t it ironic.

The FKC girls championship game will be played Saturday at Minden, tip-off at 8 p.m.