By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Abilene boys basketball team survived a scare at the hands of Rock Creek in a 64-57 OT thriller to advance to the state tournament next week.
The Mustangs campaign comes to a close at 9–13 following a shock upset over Concordia in the quarterfinal.
This game played out much differently than the 68-27 decimation that the Cowboys handed Rock Creek back in December.
“I cannot begin to convey how impressed I am with Rock Creek,” Abilene head coach Erik Graefe said. “Coach Johnston is as good as any coach I’ve ever seen. We crushed these guys in December, and for them to come back and fight the way they did was monumental.”
Abilene spread the wealth evenly with four players in double figures led by Kaleb Becker with 19, keeping the Mustangs guessing for 32 minutes.
While it would have been easy for the Cowboys to hang their heads in overtime, Abilene powered through with the same tenacity that got them to this game.
“These guys have played with the same competitive fire all year long,” Graefe said. “For us to come up with some big shots late and in the overtime was huge. Rock Creek gave us all we could take, but ultimately our guys were able to handle it.”
Abilene has been on the hunt for a spot at state since their 2020-21 run, and finally saw all of their hard work on and off the floor pay off on Saturday.
“It means the work we have put in has been validated,” Graefe said. “This is a talented group of kids who worked hard all year.”
With a punched ticket to state in hand, the Cowboys will head to Salina next week to battle it out with the best of the best in Class 4A.
The state tournament will run from Wednesday, March 6th to Saturday, March 9th.
For continuing coverage of the Abilene boys basketball team throughout the state tournament, stay tuned to the Salina Post.