Okarche better than Okay

The scope of what this team could accomplish wasn’t discussed in June or when school started in August.

It wasn’t talked about when practices began in October or when the season tipped off in November.

It wasn’t brought up when the team won the South Canadian Classic, the Three Rivers Conference Tournament or the Coyle Tournament.

Not even when the regular season ended without a blemish or when the group convincingly won the district, the regional or the area tournaments.

But, finally, as they approached the last Class A state championship game to ever be played at State Fair Arena, Aaron West addressed what the rest of the state had been talking about for months.

He knew destiny awaited the 2025 Okarche Warriors if they were willing to grasp it.

“I told them that I get it, we’re undefeated,” West said. “I told them we could go down as one of the greatest small school teams to ever play the game. To be undefeated, to beat some of the teams we beat, to win a state championship… “We could be a part of greatness.”

Greatness, it could be argued, had already been achieved with this team, but its legacy was cemented just after 10 p.m. Saturday at The Big House as time ran out on Okarche’s 67-54 victory over the fourthranked Okay Mustangs in the state championship game.

The Warriors had not only repeated as state champs, but did so with a perfect 32-0 record.

“We just never talked about it,” said eventual tournament MVP Jett Mueggenborg, who also repeated with that title from a year ago.

“We just kept quiet and took it one game at a time. And as soon as the last buzzer sounded, we knew we could say we were undefeated.”

•••

The core of the 2025 Okarche team remained the same as the one that won the title a year ago, the program’s first since 1979.

West once again had the ability to build around the foundation of Hunter Mueggenborg, Jett Mueggenborg and Easton Roby.

“It starts with them,” West said. “Their leadership and all their experience. They made sure the team was locked in, ready and focused and all the other guys bought in and stepped up.”

They were guys like Colin Hendrickson, Brett Carnott and Easton Kirby.

All were on the team last season, but their contributions were limited.

This year, that changed. “Colin comes in this year and gives us another ball handler and the effort he brings and the pressure he brings at the front of the press is just insane,” said Roby.

“Brett barely got any minutes last year and he comes out this year and is our leading rebounder in a lot of games and has high energy. I think energy’s a big thing. Not being nervous, just coming out, having energy and being a dog.”

Kirby, noted Roby, was the team’s sixth man this season.

“He was shooting it really well this year,” he said. “He was a bucket and that’s also a big role to have shooters off the bench that can come in and space out the floor.”

And that group spaced the floor about as well as anyone ever has…and made the court seem like it was shrinking for opponents.

During the regular season, Okarche averaged over 90 points a game and its lowest total was 73.

The Warriors forced - literally - dozens of turnovers a game.

It was always West’s goal to get five players in double figures because he knows the value of a well-balanced team.

“That’s what it takes. You’ve got to have performances by all your team in the big moments, not just your main guys,” he said.

“You’ve got to count on everybody.”

That happened in the state championship game as Okarche made its adjustments throughout the evening to counter Okay’s talented attack.

To shut down Okay’s biggest threats, West through a slew of Warriors at the Mustangs’ two best players.

“We had Brett, Colin, Ethan and Sam (Kroener) come in and take turns guarding them,” said West. “And they locked them down for the most part and eventually they didn’t even work hard to get open because we were outworking them.

“We wore them down.”

•••

Aaron West never listened to the talk that Okarche was a lock to repeat with what his team had returning from a year ago.

He had too much respect for his opponents, mostly because Class A was once again loaded with good teams.

He made note two seasons ago when Okarche made its first of what is now three consecutive trips to state that most every team in the field had a core of underclassmen who would be back for multiple years.

So knowing that teams like Caddo and Rattan and Okay all had experienced talent, West wouldn’t listen to the talk.

“Everyone would tell me that we had it easy and that nobody was going to be able to play with us,” West recalled. “And my response is everyone is trying to beat us, everyone is trying to knock us off and there are some legitimate teams out there good enough to win it.”

West said his team was locked in from the start of the season, no matter the foe.

“They were focused, they continued to practice extremely hard,” he said. “They never, ever overlooked any opponent. I give credit to these guys.”

And that core trio also improved.

Hunter Mueggenborg was the shining example.

Always a talented, athletic ball-handler who could run the offense and command the fast break with both efficiency and a flair, Hunter had one area that could use some work.

As a freshman, Hunter shot 18 percent from 3-point range.

“When we got him, his form needed some work,” West said. “He bought in then during the offseason and he put a lot of time into working on his form.”

The next year, Hunter shot 23 percent from long range. Last year it jumped to 31 percent.

“I’ve put a lot of time into shooting,” Hunter said. “Throughout the summer and offseason and even during season, just constantly listening to the coaches and what they wanted to see in terms of my form really helped me improve over the years.”

It culminated this year when Hunter, the team’s lone senior, shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.

“There were games he’d have five or six 3-pointers in the first half,” West said. “So when you have a guard that can distribute and see the floor at 6-foot-3 and then also can knock down the open shot and be able to play at pace...

“I think you see why he had an unbelievable career.”

•••

After dismantling Texhoma in the quarterfinals, Okarche had its rubber match with Rattan awaiting.

The third-ranked Rams are not unfamiliar foes.

On top of the two schools’ baseball clashes in recent years, it was the third year in a row for the teams to match up at state.

Rattan beat Okarche by 15 points in the 2023 quarterfinals and Okarche returned the favor last year in the first round.

“It was a war,” West remembered.

This showdown was no different.

Rattan jumped on the Warriors early, toyed with the Warriors’ press and laid several shots off the glass for a 20-13 lead in the first quarter.

“That automatically took away our press,” Roby said. “And then it just came down to what we did everyday in practice when we worked on half-court defense.

“We knew it was going to have to be a part of our game at some point.”

West said that’s one of the strong points of his team. Although the Warriors rarely had to adapt to what other teams were doing, they had the ability.

“Not a lot of people can play our style, but we can go play their style,” West said. “You have to practice our style to be able to play like that, but we can adjust to anybody.”

The Warriors still pushed the pace, but didn’t press as much.

Justovermidwaythrough the second quarter, Okarche was starting to impose its will.

The Warriors went on a 15-3 run to take the lead and then a scoreboard malfunction at the arena delayed the game for several minutes.

“I think we were about to take off. We had them on the ropes,” West said. “They were huffing and puffing, but that break gave them a second wind.”

Rattan cut Okarche’s lead to 32-21.

The Warriors never were able to get the separation in the second half.

They did get some breathing room late.

Up 51-49, Jett delivered a three-point play for a fivepoint Okarche lead.

The Warriors got a stop on the other end and, after a scramble for the ball, Jett winds up with it while sitting on the floor.

West quickly called a timeout.

Okarche didn’t capitalize on that possession, but once again got a defensive stop and ultimately pulled out a 56-49 victory.

Jett led the way with 25 points.

Hunter scored 12 and had a team-high five assists.

Not necessarily known for his scoring, Carnott had 11 points and seven rebounds while Roby produced 10 rebounds to go with his six points.

Rattan shot 59.1 percent (13 of 22) in the first half, but only 29.2 percent (7 of 24) in the second.

“We were able to adjust what we needed to, then our guys made winning plays down the stretch,” West said.

Okay presented another formidable foe in the finals after dispatching of No. 2 Caddo 67-39 in the semifi nals.

Caddo won the 2023 crown and fell victim to Okarche in last year’s title game.

Okay has been lurking as a contender for several years and went into last year’s state tournament ranked atop the class.

The Mustangs’ losses this season were to the likes of 5A’s Booker T. Washington and 4A’s Crossings Christian at the Tournament of Champions and to 2A’s Fairland, a state semifi nalist this season.

“Not only were they a really good team, but they were tested against some really good teams,” West said.

Okay entered the title game with a 15-game win streak and playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. The Mustangs’ coach, Chad Clark, had hinted in an interview that his team was perhaps being overlooked due to the likes of Okarche being in the field.

And, just as it happened in the semifinal, the Warriors’ foe got off to a solid start.

Okay’s Chase Clark and Diezel Davis did their part.

The aforementioned Mustangs who became the focus of a lot of Okarche’s defensive efforts got their team off to a solid start and the Mustangs were up 19-15 after a quarter.

“We knew those two could play,” West said. “We make little highlights of each team and their best players and we watched how good they were.

“We knew coming in what they could do and they came out of the gate and were ready to go.”

So eventually West threw his slew of defenders at the duo.

Carnott was focused primarily on guarding Clark and Hendrickson on Davis.

But the pair of Mustangs also got their doses of Kirby and Kroener as well as Austin Pinkerton and Macklin Smith.

“Not only were we able to hold both of them below their averages, but those two facilitate Okay’s whole offense,” West said.

“So that group wreaked havoc on them.”

The Warriors held Okay to just nine second-quarter points and had claimed a 29-28 lead at halftime.

It popped to a seven-point advantage when Hunter nailed a 3-pointer at the 3:45 mark of the third quarter, but Okay’s Rylen Burk answered with a trey of his own.

Then came the turning point.

Okarche’s offense produced an open look for Roby at the top of the key and he delivered a 3-pointer.

A quick stop on the other end produced a similar look for Roby on offense.

He drained it. The lead was suddenly 45-35 with 1:45 to go in the third quarter, the largest of the game for the Warriors and Okay was forced to call a timeout.

Roby’s emotion took over as the Warriors headed to the bench.

“To this day, that’s my favorite basketball moment,” Roby said, recalling photos that were captured of him after making the back-toback treys. “I was so hype, but I didn’t even know what I was thinking or doing. I was just yelling and flexing.”

After the timeout, Jett pushed the lead to 12 with a basket and the Mustangs had their one final push, scoring five straight to end the third quarter.

But the damage was done.

Okarche started the fourth on an 8-0 run and the Mustangs never got back within single digits.

After Carnott made two free throws, Jett scored six straight to make it 55-40 with 5:10 to play.

Jettscored12ofOkarche’s 14 points during a stretch in which they built their lead back to 15 again.

“That stretch he had… it’s what he does with his scoring ability,” West said. “He just has those moments where he just refuses to lose and makes big play after big play.

“It’s what he always does.”

After being bested in the first quarter, the Warriors outscored Okay by five, six and six points over the next three.

The Mustangs shot 43.5 percent in the first half, but only 35.7 percent in the second.

Okarche, meanwhile, jumped from 36.7 percent (11 of 30) in the first 16 minutes to 52.2 percent (12 of 23) in the second two quarters.

“I thought over the course of the game, they wore down,” said West of the Mustangs.

“It was like I told our team at halftime, they will wear down. I feel like you guys will get stronger as the game goes on and they will wear down.

“And that’s what they did.”

Clark led four Mustangs in double figures with 15 points.

Burk scored 12, Davis 11 and Bryson Parnell 10.

The Mustangs ended their season with a 27-5 record.

Jett Mueggenborg lit up those Big House nets for 32 points on 13 of 23 shooting.

He once again had the most points in the state tournament with 89 (Clark was second with 63).

With his eight rebounds, Jett also was tops for the tournament with 27.

Roby was second with 25 and Carnott third with 20.

Okarche out-rebounded the Mustangs 32-25.

That, too, is by design. “These guys have spent a lot of time in the weight room,” West said. “You have to play defense and rebound and that’s what these guys did.”

Roby delivered another double-double with his 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Hunter scored 12 (shooting 2 of 5 from 3-point range, precisely 40 percent) and had five rebounds.

The group effort made for an historic season.

Okarche averaged 88.8 points a game and gave up 47.1 which was a 41.7 point average margin of victory.

The Warriors scored in the 90s in 19 of their 32 games (they scored 99 seven times).

The team was in the 80s seven times and 70s four times.

The semifinal and final were the only times Okarche was held under 70 points.

Okarche is the 45th boys team in Oklahoma preps history to go undefeated and win a title.

When this one was secured, Hunter was the first to emerge from the dogpile.

He sought out West and met the man who has yelled at him for four years with a massive hug.

“During the season he’s very hard on us and it molds us as players so we are able to take the yelling. He always says ‘It’s not how I’m talking to you, but what I’m talking to you about,’” Hunter said.

“He has been the best coach I could ask for and he and all the coaches work so hard for months on end just to see us succeed.”

Jett also recognized the work put in by West, Brandon Treece, Hunter Frisby and Tony Williams.

“They put in so many hours,” he said. “I bet they haven’t seen their family a whole lot and haven’t had a lot of sleep.

“They can sleep now for at least a few days. Just a few days of sleep.”

The talk has inevitably already turned to the possibility of a three-peat, but West wants his players to take the time to appreciate what they’ve accomplished.

“Give us a couple of days,” West said. “I told the guys the coaches will get back to work the next day, but you guys enjoy it. Take a few days to breathe.”

•••

The standard at Okarche had always been the 1979 title team, the lone group of Warriors to reach the pinnacle for so many years, despite so many near misses.

With respect to that group, the line has shifted.

“There was always a standard to live up to our only state championship team and last year we lived up to that,” West said.

“And now, winning two in a row, I think they made their own mark. Now they’ve made a standard for other teams who wear the Okarche uniform will strive to meet.”

A massive part of that standard has been Hunter Mueggenborg, who started 118 games for the Warriors.

Again, he’s the only senior on the Okarche roster and he’s fully aware of his career’s fairy tale ending.

“There is literally no better way I could have ended my high school career,” he said. “Being the last Class A team to win in the Big House is historic and to do it backto- back is just incredible.

“I’m so lucky to have been able to have such a great high school basketball experience.”