Mustangs secure playoffs but have win streak halted

Sweetwater had its fourgame win streak halted on Friday, but is still headed to the Class 4A playoffs.

The Mustangs fell to Lubbock Estacado, 63-51, but with their 4-5 record will be the No. 4 seed in District 5-4A. The Matadors (8-1) are the No. 1 seed. They have a two-game lead over 6-3 Snyder and Levelland with the regular season to finish Tuesday.

Sweetwater’s playoff opponent will be Glen Rose, the No. 1 team in District 6-4A, with other details not yet available.

Sweetwater led Lubbock Estacado, 17-16, late in the first period but the Mats launched an 11-0 run, which put them up to stay by at least a four-point margin over the Mustangs the rest of the game Friday. Sweetwater got the lead under 10 (47-38) on a Korda Moore three-pointer to end the third quarter but that was as close as it got the second half as the Mats began the fourth on a 5-0 run to get the lead to 14 points.

Malik Brown led Sweetwater with 22 points, followed by Moore with 12.

Meanwhile, Estacado had 11 of its 13 players score between two and 14 points.

“The game was so physical,” coach Evan Grantham said. “It was tough for us to get an offensive rhythm.”

The Mustangs will go to Lake View, which is last in the district at 1-8, to end the regular season Tuesday.

“We just couldn’t string enough stops together to get a win,” Grantham said. “Now we start preparing for Glen Rose. I really like that matchup for us. They are a good team, and it should be a really fun matchup.”

Sweetwater’s overall record is 21-11 for the year.