BY MICHAEL DAVID

The Filer Wildcats came north Friday night looking to hand the Wood River Wolverines a regular season-ending loss.

But the Wolverines and their raucous faithful crowd would have none of it. The Wolverines jumped out to a fast start and relentlessly applied the pressure all night, coming out on top 52-46 on Senior Night.

It was Superhero night, as well, and the four seniors honored before the contest, looked like they possessed super powers. They played energized basketball in the first quarter, going up by a score of 16-9 after the opening period.

Diogo Varejao had two steals and resulting breakaway layups to get the packed gym riled up. Canyon MacDonald ripped down two rebounds, Brandon Scott hit a three-pointer, and Colten Weatherly hit a bucket and played lockdown defense. The lone sophomore on the court for the Wolverines, Johnny Radford, hit two 3-pointers in the first period to help stake the big lead.

Varejao had another steal and layup in the second quarter to keep the momentum going. Then Filer found their rhythm from deep, keeping the contest within reach as the teams went into halftime with the Wolverines up 25-20.

Coach Radford’s halftime speech must have been a doozy, as the Wolverine cagers came out fired up, extending the lead to 40-29 following a MacDonald layup as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

Wood River withstood a final push by the determined Wildcats, hitting their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

Radford led all scores with 13 points, going four for six from behind the three-point arc. Scott had 12 points and four rebounds. MacDonald finished with eight points and four rebounds. Varejao had six points and five rebounds to go along with his three steals. Weatherly had four points and two boards, and Brayden Olsen chipped in seven points.

Wood River finished the regular season with a record of 4-16 and will face Minico on the road in the first round of the District Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 13.