STEPHENVILLE -- Ponder was bound to face a tough test eventually this postseason, and Itasca gave it just that Friday.

After surviving several rallies by Itasca, Ponder passed its biggest test of the playoffs with a 57-46 win in the Class 2A Region II semifinals at Wisdom Gym on the Tarleton State campus.

For the DRC/Byron Taylor

Ponder's Calvin Redfearn, left, drives past Itasca's Tralyn Harden during Friday's Class 2A Region II semifinal fame in Stephenville. The Lions won 57-46.

Ponder (36-2) saw an 11-point lead dwindle to just one late in the third quarter, but the Lions maintained head coach Doug Boxell's game plan in the final period and put the game away on the free-throw line.

"I told them we had to get the ball to the basket and get some free throws," Boxell said. "We had to beat them to loose balls."

The Lions scored 15 of its final 20 points on the free-throw stripe and advanced to the regional finals to face Edgewood (32-5) today at 2 p.m.

Sophomore Scott Gregg came of the bench for Ponder and scored a team-high 15 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field. Joel Garza added 13 points and five rebounds for the Lions.

Gregg scored consecutive baskets midway through the second quarter to give Ponder a 26-15 lead after a 9-0 run. The Lions appeared to be in control of the ballgame at that point, but Itasca rallied on the heels of senior guard Tralyn Harden.

"Itasco presented a lot of problems for us with their quickness," head coach Doug Boxell said. "We had a hard time getting the ball where we wanted."

Harden nailed a 3-pointer on the first of two scoring trips down the floor where the senior pulled Itasca to within four points just before halftime.

Ponder came out after the half and managed to extend its lead to eight points until Harden keyed another rally by Itasca. After several turnovers and unforced mistakes by the Lions, Harden hit his third 3-pointer of the night in the midst of a 7-2 scoring run that brought Itasca to within a point at 34-33 with just under three minutes in third quarter. Harden finished with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

"I thought we weren’t in control a lot of times," Boxell said. "Their defense played well, and we ran into some turnovers."

In an intense fourth quarter that had its share of hard fouls and loose-ball scuffles, Ponder took control of the game when Garza hit a 3-pointer for a 43-37 advantage with five minutes left in the game.

The bucket appeared to rattle the Itasca players and led to several fouls that put Ponder in the bonus. Ponder opened up its lead by going to the free-throw line 11 times in the final period. The Lions matched its largest advantage of the game at 51-39 and hung on to the 11-point lead throughout the final minutes.

BRAD McDONNELL can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bmcdonnell@dentonrc.com.

Ponder 57, Itasca 46

Ponder 13            15            9            20            --            57

Itasca   12            10            11            13            --            46

Ponder (36-2) – Isaiah Boxell 9, Nathan McPherson 6, Calvin Redfearn 5, Joel Garza 13, Jesus Lujan 3, Scott Gregg 15, Terrill Yeager 3, Dylan Ballard 3.

Itasca (31-3) – Dee Marshall 6, Mickey Marshall 4, Desmond Guy 10, Tralyn Harden 17, Jacob Boyd 9.