STEPHENVILLE -- For the third consecutive year, Ponder and Edgewood met in the Class 2A Region II semifinals with one team prepared to move on and the other prepared to go home.

And as it just so happens, Edgewood has heard the same story for the past three years -- Ponder advances and Edgewood is done.

Ponder (34-4) used a dominant 5:44 stretch to start the game to put Edgewood (32-5) in a hole it could never overcome and the Lions went on to a 75-47 win and notched their regional final date with Brock today at 2 p.m.

“When you get to regional tournament, every team can play,” said Ponder head coach Jude Stanley. “We came out tonight with a lot of energy and our kids executed very well. My assistant coaches put a lot of time in scouting and their work makes this a lot easier.”

The Bulldogs won the tip, but not much else went their way after that. They turned the ball over on their first two possessions of the game to quickly trail 6-0 following a pair of Lion 3-pointers by David Robertson and Kaleb Broadstreet.

Ponder’s early dominance continued as they raced out to a 17-3 over the first 5:44 with Robertson, Broadstreet and Alex Huerta providing all the scoring.

Edgewood managed to outscore the Lions 7-4 over the final 2:16 to make the score 21-10 Ponder entering the second quarter.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the second quarter.

The teams each notched seven points over the majority of the quarter, but a late 5-1 run on two Robertson free throws, one Scott Gregg free throw and a Huerta layup allowed the Lions to maintain their lead at halftime, 33-18.

Edgewood showed signs of life after the break, using a quick 7-0 run to cut the Ponder lead to 33-25. Broadstreet ended the run and changed the momentum by knocking down a trio of free throws extend the Lion lead to 11.

The Broadstreet free throws kick-started a 20-7 run over the remainder of the third quarter and the Lions were able to enter the fourth quarter with a comfortable 53-32 lead.

Gregg slammed down the first field goal of the fourth quarter to give him his 11^th point of the game, securing a double-double.

Ponder went onto outscore Edgewood 22-15 in the final frame, with eight points coming from John Burke off the bench.

The Lions connected on 47 percent of their shots from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc, compared to Edgewood’s 32 and 29 percent, respectively.

Robertson led the way for the Lions with 21 points, all in the first three quarters. Gregg notched a double-double with 11 points and 14 boards.

“David had an extremely proficient offensive game,” said Stanley. “He didn’t take a lot of shots, but what he did, he knocked down. Scott was a monster on the boards and he’s been a force for us all year. He just continues to clean up the glass.”

Broadstreet added 16 points despite missing the final 4:30 of the second quarter with foul trouble. Huerta tallied 12 to round out the double-figure scorers.

Jorden Young (three), Dalton Brown (two) and Tanner Yeager (two) also had points for Ponder.

In the preceding game, Brock (30-6) handed Godley a 48-45 loss to advance to the finals.