The Dauphin Clippers varsity boys are one win away from a berth to a  provincial qualifying tournament after a lopsided 109-36 win over the Swan Valley Tigers in game one of the zone playoffs, Thursday in Dauphin.

Originally scheduled for Swan River, Feb. 17, the games featuring both the varsity boys and varsity girls were postponed due to the extreme cold and moved to Thursday in Dauphin.

Clippers boys coach Steven Hudyma liked what he saw from his team on the court.

“I really liked the way we played as a team today. And continuing going forward that’s what we’re going to have to do to be successful,” he said.

The Clippers used their pressure defence to continuously steal the ball resulting in the lopsided score. That pressure defence, Hudyma said, is one of the team’s strengths to create easy baskets.

“We started off a little slow with making some of our three-point shots. But then we were back to normal within the second quarter,” he said.

The Clippers, Hudyma added, like to mix it up with the defence to create easy layups and they rely on three-point shots when they are in their half-court set.

The Clippers advanced to the provincial qualifier with a 101-50 victory in game two, Monday in Swan River.

Prior to that, the Clippers have an exhibition game with Yorkton this Tuesday.

In the girls game, Swan River led for most of the contest, but the Clippers hung around and took the lead thanks to a late push only to see the Tigers sink a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to seal a 62-60 victory.

Clippers coach Natasha Nepinak has been telling the team all season to push through the fatigue.

“We went from having injuries to have not very many players. So we tell them to keep pushing and keep fighting to the very end,” she said.

Nepinak  is confident the Clippers can even the best-of-three series, Monday in Swan River.

“I think we have a good chance against them. I think that this was an off-game. I don’t know what was going on. I feel like we were kind of a little bit scrambled, but I feel like closer to the end we played how we usually play. So I have a good feeling in Swan next week,” she said.

Nepinak wishes they had a fan bus going to Swan River with them to cheer the team on. The fans in attendance on Thursday were loud and raucous as the Clippers made their late push to take a lead in the last minute.

“The fans are amazing. The energy in here was amazing. They help us all the time,” she said.

The key to winning Monday’s game is simple.

“Knowing that it’s do or die. If they want to continue practices, if they want to continue playing games, then they know what they have to do and that’s win.

The girls got the job done, forcing a third and deciding game with a 74-50 victory, Monday in Swan River.

Game three will go in Swan River on Wednesday.