It’s better to be lucky than good, and the Manitou Springs boys were a little bit of both.

The No. 2-seeded Mustangs (22-2) were good for the first three quarters, and lucky in the fourth, but found a way to defeat No. 18 Roaring Fork 56-54 and advance to their third 3A state quarterfinals in four years.

“It’s definitely better to be lucky sometimes,” Manitou senior guard Davyn Adamscheck said. “Now we’re going back to state, and it’s all or nothing for the seniors. We want to go out on a high note, and leave this program with a winning mentality – that’s our goal. We’ve been talking about going back since we lost last year, and it’s just survive and advance.”

Survive is the appropriate word to describe Manitou’s win Saturday. The host Mustangs seemed to be cruising toward the state quarterfinals, holding a 29-19 lead at the half and a 40-31 advantage after three quarters.

Roaring Fork junior Justin Thompson had other plans, scoring 24 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. With Manitou point guard Cole Sienknecht fouled out with 4:24 left, the Rams used a 7-0 run to take a 54-53 lead with 49 seconds left, forcing a stunned Mustangs team to call a timeout.

“It was definitely a big moment, and I think a lot of people would expect me to take that shot, but we all trust each other at any moment,” said senior Lucas Rodholm, Manitou’s leading scorer. “I’ll pass the ball if I’m not open, and I trust that any of my teammates will make a big shot.”

Rodholm got the ball in the post and was swarmed by defenders. He made a great pass to fellow senior Jared Keul under the basket for the layup that would end up winning the game.

“All I was thinking was, ‘Don’t blow the layup,'” Keul said. “The idea of losing in this round wasn’t a good feeling to even think about, and we had to execute. We stayed focused and remained composed, and trusted each other.”

Here’s where a little luck came in for the Mustangs. Thompson, who had been lights out, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throw attempt with seven seconds left. Rodholm grabbed the rebound, made one of two free throws on the other end, and Roaring Fork’s last-second heave went wide.

“That might’ve been the only miss he had all game the way he was going,” Manitou coach Ken Vecchio said of Thompson’s failed free throw. “We were concerned, but we had a timeout if he had made the free throws. It all worked out in the end.

“This is about the kids, and it’s a special thing for the seniors to go to state three times in four years. That’s the pinnacle of high school sports – getting to the final eight at the state tournament. I’m so happy for them, getting to finish up on the big stage.”

Rodholm and Adamscheck each had 12 points, as did Conrad Olson, to lead Manitou. Now, this senior-laden team is looking for a state title next week.

“We’ve been together for four years – most of the guys in the starting lineup now played together on the JV team when we were freshmen,” Rodholm said. “We have chemistry, and we’ve earned everything we’ve accomplished.”