By Glen Miller
El Reno Tribune
OKLAHOMA CITY – The final small school game to ever be played inside the Big House proved to be a record-setting night for Okarche as the Warriors defeated No.4 Okay 67-54 to win the Class A Boys Oklahoma State High School Basketball Championship.
“My dad would be loving this right now. We came here for games ever since I could walk. All the great players who have been through this place before and for our kids to get out on this floor and experience it once more is something they will remember for the rest of their lives.
“I will miss this place. It’s getting old but that’s what makes it fun. The nostalgia of this place,” said Okarche head coach Aaron West.
Okarche put its own stamp on the Jim Norick Arena farewell card as the 13-point win over the Mustangs capped off a perfect season for Okarche – the first for either basketball program in school history.
The Warriors, who held the No.1 ranking all season, defeated Texhoma (87-63) in the quarterfinals and rallied to down No.3 Rattan (56-49) in the semifinals to earn their eighth trip to the title game.
Against Okay, Okarche rallied from a 19-15 deficit after one period to outscore the Mustangs 52-35 over the final three periods to complete a 32-0 record. Dating back to last year, the Warriors are now on a 41-game win streak.
“We had a target on our backs, and everyone was gunning for us all year. We just had to show up every day with a chip on our shoulder in practice to get work done. I think it showed the amount of work we put in by getting it done,” said Easton Roby.
Okarche’s undefeated season marks the first back-to-back state titles for the boys’ program and its third overall title. It’s the second back-to-back championship in the sport for OHS as the girls’ program won consecutive titles in 2013 and 2014.
“It’s awesome and that’s what we had been shooting for all season. Right from the beginning we said we wanted to go undefeated and win it again and go back-to-back. Now we have a 41-game win streak,” said Roby.
It wasn’t easy as Okarche led 34-32 early in the third period before going on a 13-6 run to gain some breathing room. Roby had two 3-pointers in that break and Hunter Mueggenborg a third.
Jett Mueggenborg added bookend baskets around those key treys as Okarche led 47-40 after three frames.
In the final eight minutes, Jett Mueggenborg scored 12 of the team’s 20 points. Roby added six free throws and Hunter Mueggenborg a basket.
“We never talked about the undefeated season, but these guys were locked in. Every big game they stepped up and even in the playoffs we had different guys step in and play when needed.
“An undefeated season is unreal. We were the last ones standing in the state of Oklahoma that did not lose a game. I told them we could go make history and they did. It’s hard to get one (state title) and it’s even tougher to do what they just did. It’s just unreal,” said West.
Jett Mueggenborg led the team in scoring with 32 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Roby had a double-double line of 16 points, 10 boards, three assists and two steals.
Hunter Mueggenborg closed with 12 points, five caroms and two steals. Ethan Kirby added a 3-pointer, while Colin Hendrickson and Brett Carnott scored two points each.
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