Mustang Men’s Basketball will host a first-round game of the Region IX North Tournament at Western Wyoming Community College on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. In the match-up, third-seeded Mustangs will face sixth-seeded Central Wyoming College, whom they just defeated 90-75 on the road this past Saturday, according to a release from WWCC. 
“It’s not ideal to play the same team in the opening round of the tournament that you just played to end the regular season, but that’s just how things turned out,” Coach Ryan Orton said this week in a release. Despite having notched two victories over Central this season, he said, the Mustangs will not be looking past the visiting Rustlers.
“They are a good team,” Orton emphasized. “To me, they’re the most complex team in the region to prepare for, because they run their stuff so well and they’re just so disciplined.”
The Mustangs finished 21-8 on the season and 8-4 in conference play. Gillette College led the North conference at 11 -1, followed by Casper College at 10-2. If Western defeats CWC for the third time this season on Saturday, they most likely will head to Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado, where the top-seeded Rattlers will host the main tournament provided they win their opening-round matchup on Saturday.