The Nevis boys basketball team is in a familiar place. For the third year in a row, the Tigers are once again Section 5A champions and are heading to Williams Arena to take part in the Class A State Tournament.

In this three-year span, Nevis has a combined record of 71-14. This season, the Tigers are 24-6 and have won 15 of their last 16 games.

After losing two 1,000-point scorers from last season in Eddie Kramer and Mattias Warrington, along with only having one senior on their roster this year, it appeared early on that maybe this could be the year Nevis is dethroned as 5A champions.

The Tigers had some injuries early on and held a 9-5 record in mid-January. Since then, Nevis’ balanced attack (offensively led by JohnPaul Benson, Alex Lester, Spencer Lindow, and Joe Houchin), along with their high-intensity defense that’s only allowed 50 points per game over the course of their final 16 games, earned the Tigers a “3-peat” as Section 5A champions.

Nevis will open up the Class A State Tournament unseeded. They’ll take on top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on Wednesday, March 22nd at 11:00 a.m.

By — Chaz Mootz