Not to Braggs, but...

While it had been 32 long years since the Dover boys basketball program had made an appearance at the state tournament, it’s been nearly twice as long since it won its only game there.

Sixty-three years, to be exact.

Both of those changed Wednesday.

Dover led from start to finish as it dismantled No. 5 Braggs 60-36 in the Class B state quarterfinals at State Fair Arena.

The victory pushed eighth-ranked Dover (272) into the semifinals against No. 1 Calumet (26-3) at 6 p.m. Friday in Yukon (after press time of this edition).

Dover’s only other appearance in the semifinals came in 1962 when it beat Gotebo in the Class C quarters before bowing out to Taft.

Braggs knocked Dover out of the playoffs in last year’s area tournament en route to qualifying for state.

However, it was Dover, not the Wildcats, that acted like it had experienced The Big House court before.

The Longhorns scored the game’s first 10 points and were up 14-2 when Brennan Fletcher scored at the buzzer on a sideline inbound play.

Braggs never got closer than 10 the rest of the day.

Each time the Wildcats showed signs of life - such as a 6-2 spurt to get within 18-8 in the second, Dover had an answer.

That one was back-toback treys by Casen Buck and Lucas Conrady, which started a 13-0 run.

The lead was 31-12 at halftime and Braggs only got as close as 14 early in the third quarter.

But Dover later closed the quarter with a 9-0 run using different offensive sets on multiple consecutive possessions that have been staples of a Jared Reese-coached team.

“Everything was rolling,” Reese said. “We talked about possibly pulling it out and holding for a final shot, but everything was just working.”

Jonah Pendergraft scored five points during that run as the lead swelled to 48-22.

After Braggs opened the fourth with a 9-2 spurt, Pendergraft was the catalyst of another 8-0 Longhorn push.

The senior guard made two free throws, collected a steal and laid it in to start the run.

By game’s end, Pendergraft led all scorers with 21 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

He was a microcosm of the whole team.

Dover shot 60.5 percent on the day. Braggs managed to make just 13 of 39 attempts (33.3 percent).

The Wildcats were led by Daryl Winter’s 13 points.

Dover also got 10 points from Buck.

Conrady scored eight and had seven of Dover’s 15 assists.

Carter Kitchens added eight points and a gamehigh nine rebounds.

The Longhorns owned a 25-12 advantage on the boards.

Nathan Cohee chipped in seven points while Fletcher scored six.

“It was all about execution,” Reese said. “We executed about as well as we have all season long and the guys also did a great job of following the defensive game plan.

In its last three games, Dover has beaten the defending state champion Wilson (Henryetta), which is also in the state semifi-nals, No. 2 Varnum and grabbed just the second win ever at state.

“This is the best time to be playing our best,” Reese said. “But Calumet is the real deal, so we’ve got to continue what we’ve been doing and even a little more if we’re going to get another one.”