The Rock Creek Mustangs ended the 4A State Basketball Tournament right where they started — in second place.
After racing through their sub-state, the Mustangs entered the state contest as the two-seed with a 20-2 record. It looked like standing in their way was just the top seeded, and undefeated, Ottawa.
The Mustangs on Wednesday ran through the seventh-seeded Abilene (16-6), for the third time this season, 56-33, advancing to Friday’s semis. There, they faced the No. 3 seed Andale (19-3), easily winning that game 63-48.
Then came the anticipated meeting with Ottawa. Except it didn’t. Ottawa had run into the No. 4 McPherson Bullpups (18-4), the defending state champions, who played stall ball in the semi-final match up, forcing a pair of overtimes before winning 52-50.
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