BELOIT — The sixth-seeded West Branch boys’ basketball team entered the postseason tournament looking to make a long run playing as a close-knit team.

The Warriors showed how dynamic they can be with a convincing 71-36 win over 20th-seeded Hubbard in the first round of the Division II sectional Tuesday night.

“We played a good game tonight, and we knew coming in that we just had to play our game because this is the first playoff win in five years for us,” West Branch senior center Josh Gregory said. “So it is a pretty big deal for us. Also, we are playing for two guys at home that are in quarantine since last week. So this meant a lot to both us and them. We came and played for them.”

The two players in quarantine are senior center Brock Smith and his brother, junior point-guard Jed Smith. Their losses shortened the Warriors’ bench but also helped spark a next-man-up mentality.

“We’re playing for them right now,” Warriors coach Michael Brown said. “It brought us together I thought. It just shows how much they care about each other.”

The Warriors, who improved to 17-6, will entertain 15th-seeded Marlington in a sectional bracket final on Friday.

The Eagles finished the season at 5-14.

The Warriors utilized a deadly combination of strong guard play and post play. They controlled the boards and overwhelmed the Eagles on the inside. West Branch also connected on six 3-pointers. Many of the 24 total field goals were scored in the paint.

“Their guards are very physical,” Eagles coach Joe Bornemiss said. “That is a good, aggressive-playing team that knows where each and everyone is on the floor. We knew that going in. We knew they have a big kid (Gregory), but we wanted to try to guard the perimeter as best we could. And when you don’t match up with strength on the perimeter, it sometimes creates a problem. As the game goes on, it starts to wear on you.”

Gregory likes the combination.

“If they pack the paint, then we have shooters that can step out and shoot 3s,” he said. “And then if they decide to step out and not help in the paint, we can take them one-on-one in the post. It’s very effective and I think we utilize it well.”

Brown also enjoys it when the Warriors are clicking.

“We worked the ball inside early and then it kind of became a domino effect from there,” Brown added. “Then we got some quality shots from Jaxon (Hendershott) who is obviously shooting the ball well. They are a very unselfish group. I don’t know if I ever played on a team or coached a team that has chemistry quite like these guys. They are a really tight group.”

The Warriors led from tip-off to the final buzzer. They raced to an 18-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended their advantage to 17 points (32-15) by intermission.

The Eagles came out strong to begin the second half, using a quick 6-0 run. But the Warriors rustled the momentum back and pushed their lead to 46-25 at the end of the third period.

“Last year’s team set the example with 18 wins,” Brown said. “Then these seniors have kind of followed that lead. With these guys and the challenge of not having a normal summer, to follow up a pretty good year from last year, we’re happy. We are proud of what our seniors have overcome to get to 17 wins. With a home game Friday to get into a district semifinal, it is a really positive thing.”

Bornemiss was pleased with his group’s effort all season.

“I love these kids,” he said. “I wouldn’t want any other group but these seniors. They never quit. They work their tails off and play as hard as they can. It was hard to get in a rhythm. It was rough season.

“But it was a year where I thought our young kids got a good look at a Division II varsity program. We have some good, young kids coming through that got to see what it looks like physically. That’s where we need to get to.”