It’s a contest unlike any other on the schedule for the Aberdeen Christian and Aberdeen Roncalli boys’ basketball teams.

While there was plenty of intensity in a hard-fought 62-40 non-conference win for the top-rated Knights at Roncalli Gym Thursday night, there was even more respect between the two schools who share a football cooperative during the fall.

“It’s a blast for sure. You grind with those guys for six months out of the year playing football and then you get to go in there and compete against them,” said Christian junior Joey Johnson, “talk a little trash and all that fun stuff, but definitely had a blast. Definitely still love those guys, and had a great time.”

It was obvious from the get-go that the two squads knew each other well and had a plan to stop each other’s key options.

For Christian, that meant slowing down Roncalli scoring leader Maddox Miller. The Knights were determined to make sure he didn’t get going and held him to a pair of three-point field goals and two free throws.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were focused on containing Christian point-guard Malek Wieker and held the sharp-shooting lefty to just a pair of field goals.

“We just have to be better from top to bottom. Everybody has to be understanding when they’re taking away one of our players, find a way to get him open,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “We didn’t get him in the flow of the basketball game and we need to do a better job at that.”

However, the Knights are a team full of options and Ethan Russell broke free for 25 points, including 16 in the second half to help Christian pull away from an eight-point halftime lead.

“It was pick our poison. We were going to pick Malek, because we were able to match up with him size-wise a little bit more,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “It’s tough to match up with a 6-7 shooter and a guy that can dribble like that.”

While the game plan was solid, the Knights were able to find other players to step up in the double-digit victory.

“I thought our guys executed well, they’re just such a great team,” Gallagher said. “They’ve got great athletes. They’re well-coached. They’re able to find a way and still put points on the board.”

Roncalli led by one point after the opening quarter before Johnson entered the game and made his presence felt. He worked inside for five points to help ignite the Christian offense.

“I just wanted to come in there and give our team a spark,” Johnson said, “go in there, work hard, and grind and make some stuff happen.”

Johnson has been hampered lately with a back issue, but still impacted the game.

“He’s a warrior,” Rohrbach said. “A credit to him for toughing it out, because he did have some big points and rebounds.”

The Cavaliers were still within striking distance, trailing 41-31 with three minutes left in the third, but were unable to close the deficit any closer as the Knights gradually pulled away down the stretch.

“Our guys battled. They played hard,” Gallagher said. “(Assistant Coach Paul Fisher) made a comment, that’s championship-level effort against a championship-caliber team.”

Jackson Isakson added 11 points to the Christian total, Kaden Clark had 10, Johnson finished with seven, and Andrew Brennan contributed nine assists.

The Knights, 16-1, take on Hamlin at the DWU Classic Saturday night in Mitchell.

Rohrbach would like to see a more complete effort from his squad than what he saw against Roncalli.

“We’re always excited to get a win, there’s just things that we need to clean up,” Rohrbach said. “Our mindset is to win those last three games of the year. We definitely are excited about the win, but we just need to look at ourselves in the mirror a little bit, because I felt like it took us too long to wake up and get ready to roll.”

Maddox May topped Roncalli with 11 points. Caden Shelton and Aiden Fisher each had six. The Cavaliers, 9-9, are in a demanding stretch of games and play host to quality Northeast Conference foes Groton on Tuesday and Deuel on Thursday to wrap up the regular season.

“It’s a tough stretch,” Gallagher said, “and we’re going to have to bring our best.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (16-1): Andrew Brennan 1 0-0 2, Jackson Isakson 4 2-2 11, Ethan Russell 9 2-4 25, Malek Wieker 2 0-0 4, Kaden Clark 5 0-0 10, Konnar Furman 1 0-0 3, Joey Johnson 2 3-3 7. Totals 25-43 7-9 62.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (9-9): Maddox Miller 2 2-2 8, Caden Shelton 1 4-6 6, Aiden Fisher 2 0-2 6, Jayden Munroe 1 0-1 2, Maddox May 5 1-1 11, Brody Weinmeister 2 0-0 5, Zane Backous 1 0-0 2. Totals 14-41 7-12 40.

Aberdeen Christian 13 30 45 62

Aberdeen Roncalli 14 22 31 40

3-point field goals – Isakson, Russell 3, Furman; Miller 2, Fisher 2, Weinmeister. Total fouls – Aberdeeh Christian 14; Aberdeen Roncalli 15. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 33 (Clark 9, Russell 9); Aberdeen Roncalli 16 (May 6). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 14; Aberdeen Roncalli 9. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 16 (Brennan 9). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 7.