Somerset — Neither the Southwestern High School boys basketball team nor their first-year head coach Steve Wright are strangers to the Somerset High School Briar Patch.

Last year, the Warriors fell to Somerset, 56-51 at the Briar Patch — giving the Briar Jumpers’ 4th-year head coach Don Daniel his first ‘Warrior rivalry win’ during his tenure at Somerset High School.

And back in the old 48th District alignment, Steve Wright would have to bring his South Laurel team to battle in the small confines of the Briar Patch on a regular basis.

Tonight, Steve Wright and his Southwestern High School basketball team will pay a visit to Somerset’s historic gymnasium in a cross-town rivalry against Somerset High School, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

“I think you have to understand that if you have played (in the Briar Patch), you know what it is going to be like,” Wright explained. “Our kids have played in there before and they know what it is like. I played in there for years and years (while at South Laurel), and probably more times than I want to remember. It is an atmosphere that is an advantage to (Somerset) being in a small gym with their home crowd. But we have practiced in a lot of small gyms this fall, while we waited for volleyball season to end.”

“I don’t think it is going to have that big of an effect on us, but (the Briar Patch) is a place where (Somerset) tends to play really well,” Wright added. “We have to realize that and play well in all aspects of the game to counteract that.”

While both Somerset and Southwestern are playing some of their best basketball of the season, the two local teams have had opposite outcomes in some of their latest key games. The Warriors overcame a stretch of three loss in four games by winning their last three games in a row in somewhat of a dominating fashion, which included a 79-50 trouncing of West Jessamine and a 80-55 win over district rivals Wayne County. Meanwhile, Somerset went on a holiday stretch by winning seven of eight games before hitting a 4-game losing skid. In the Jumpers’ last two loses, a few missed opportunities have cost the Jumpers from picking up big wins against preeminent teams like North Laurel and Pulaski County.

“North Laurel is a quality team and we knew we were going into a buzz nest over there, and we put ourselves in a position to win that game,” Daniel explained. “We played well and the game came down to one rebound and we didn’t get that rebound. Basically, the same thing happened with Pulaski — a team I feel is one of the best teams in the region, along with Southwestern and East Jessamine. We put ourselves in that same position, didn’t get the rebound and went home a loser. But we have got to keep putting ourselves in that position, or it doesn’t come down to a rebound or a missed shot.”

“We have to continue to play with confidence and we just put ourselves in position to win basketball games,” Daniel said. “I think we have played relatively well down the stretch.”

Southwestern has a host of players who can score in bunches. David Kapinga, Cody Epperson, Isaiah Collier and Justin Edwards are some of the Warriors’ biggest offensive weapons. Wright can actually go 9 to 10 players deep without a hitch, and this seems to come in handy when the Warriors run their pressure full-court defense — which has the tendency to break their opponents down.

Daniel knows his Jumpers have to take care of the ball in tonight’s match-up and limit their turnovers to the pesky Warrior defensive pressure.

“We can’t turn the ball over against a team like Southwestern,” Daniel warned. “In the Wayne County game on Friday night, Southwestern really turned up the pressure and probably played one of the best quarters of basketball that I have seen any team do all year long. Southwestern took a one-point game, and in that one stretch in the third quarter, they outscored Wayne County 31 to 8. So, we can’t turn the ball over to Southwestern and expect to win.”

“We teach our kids to play with composure and not get caught up in the moment,” Daniel commented. “I think our kids have done a pretty good job of playing within themselves. We have to execute our game plan and not let the crowd affect us nor get caught up in what the other team is doing.”

According to Wright, sophomore standout guard David Kapinga will not be starting tonight. But rest assured, if the game is on the line, Wright will want the ball in Kapinga’s skillful hands.

And Don Daniel knows this as well.

“Defensively, we have to contain the dribble penetration of (David) Kapinga and a lot of things feed off his penetration,” Daniel stated. “Also, we have to keep their big guys off the boards and we can’t let their ‘stand still’ shooters get open shots from the perimeter. If we do those things defensively, we feel like we will have a chance at the ball game.”

Although new to the Somerset-Southwestern rivalry, Wright has kept close tabs on the Briar Jumpers over the past couple of years, and sees a big improvement in their play. Wright knows his team will have to play well if they expect to survive in the Briar Patch.

“All year, Somerset has played leaps and bounds better than what they did last year,” Wright commented. “They are definitely competing, and what I noticed is that when (Somerset) plays good teams — they play better. Somerset has enough talent and all the pieces are there for a good basketball team. We are expecting a hard game — and there is no question about that.”

Although the Jumpers are not as deep as Southwestern — and for that matter what team is — Somerset has developed a host of offensive weapons as well.  Sophomore guard Cam Cheuvront has the ability to score from everywhere on the court, and will draw fouls with his acrobatic open-court penetration. Alex Lange, Matt Gordon and Ryan Dishman all have the ability to hit the perimeter shots or drive inside the paint.

“We have to set the tone for our team’s mentality as we start the game with our defense,” Wright explained. “If we do that, then that leads to other areas of success like rebounding. If we are moving well defensively, we are more active on the boards and we seem to execute our offense better. If we get out and play good defense, then we tend to get in a good rhythm or good flow.”

“Somerset is going to come out excited and fired up by playing a game like this at home, and we have to counteract that with good solid play,” Wright concluded.

Both teams have already showed a knack for playing extremely well in cross-town rivalry games, despite both coming up on the losing end. Southwestern overcame a 22-point deficit in their 87-82 loss to Pulaski, while Somerset fell to Pulaski 78-73 in overtime this past Monday.

So, don’t expect anything less than a great high school basketball game between these two local teams tonight at the Briar Patch.