Hilldale boys basketball coach Jeremy Rogers heard it more than once before this season started.

“People would say, ‘You do a good job, but it’s going to be a rough year for you,’ “ he said. “I heard that from friends, people I work with here at the school and other coaches. They were saying we would win between eight and 10 games.”

Hilldale didn’t have anyone taller than 6-foot-1 this season, meaning a lack of any inside presence. Gone was the leading scorer and rebounder from last season, graduated from a  squad that won just six games.

“In my last job, I had guys every year who were 6-3 or 6-4,” Rogers said.

Hilldale players heard the critics, too.

“I had a couple of guys from Wagoner telling me that we weren’t going to be very good,” junior Hunter Harrison said. “I told them, ‘We’ll see. The whole team’s going to show you.’ “

And it has.

This year’s team has already doubled last year’s win output as well as passed the standards set by surrounding pessimists The Hornets are 13-10, won their first district championship in two seasons and earning a berth in the Class 4A Area IV regional semifinals on Thursday.

Hilldale’s improvement can be attributed to one thing — discipline.

“Our kids understand we’re not big and super athletic,” Rogers said. “We have to make up for it with hustle and being patient. It makes games easier if you have the big guys, but we do the best with what we’ve got.”

An example of that came last week as Poteau lined up 6-5 Wilson Klutts and two other 6-3 players. The Pirates jumped out to an 9-0 early lead. Hilldale eventually caught up in the second quarter and went on to take a 59-49 victory.

“We’ve had a lot of games like that when our backs have been against the wall,” senior Tony Cabrera said. “We come out and play the first half kind of sloppy, then we start picking it up. We’ll get some steals or a turnover and then get a basket. Everybody thinks we’re going to lose, but we don’t have anything to worry about.”

Hilldale has gone into other games worry-free and pulled out wins. The Hornets have victories against Verdigris Valley Conference foe Jay and more athletic teams including Locust Grove and Tulsa Webster.

The need for discipline showed up as early when the Hornets participated in preseason camps.

“We realized that we had to shoot the ball well and be smart,” said Rogers, in his fourth season at Hilldale. “Another thing that helps us is that we’re balanced. Other teams can’t focus on just one kid. We’ve got eight players who average between three and 12 points. We pass it around to look for a good shot.”

Now, the Hornets have a daunting task on their hands, taking on Roland (23-1) on Thursday. The Rangers, 23-1 and No. 2 in the Okrankings.com Class 4A poll, will have the home-court advantage as well.

Coach Ed Lewis, in his 29th season at the school, puts a team on the floor that averages 69.5 points, led by Seth Youngblood’s 21.6. The Rangers yield 47 points.

Roland beat Hilldale 68-45 at the Hilldale Tournament in December.

Think the Hornets are intimidated? Think again.

“They have five players and we have five players,” senior Ty Whitebird said. “We don’t look at them as the No. 2 team in the state. We see them as equals.”

Cabrera sums it up best. “There’s been upsets before,” he said. “Hopefully, we can pull one off.”

They’ve certainly shown the naysayers already.