We knew we had to play extremely well to win. We're excited about our performance. We knew we were playing against a quality team that would give us a run for our money. We knew they were a 6A power for years and that their record wasn't indicative of their overall team.

(Yao) did all right, but it's not about individual performance in this league. It's team play and playing collectively. He's still trying to get back in game mode, and we know it will take a while before he's back at full strength. I thought overall, though, he did some good things, but he's still not at 100 percent.

They have been incredibly special. Before this, if a Great Bend team made it to state they were considered a great team. They raised the bar. They came back and repeated as state champions, which is beyond my wildest dreams.

This team did a great job of keeping its composure.

I know late in the game, one of the assistants said Matt Simmons must have had 15 rebounds. Every time we needed a big one, he got it. He plays like a horse out there.

It gave us a little breathing room, which we needed very much at the end of the game. It gave us about five or six stops to give us some room to work with.