SPOKANE - Moses Lake Christian Academy (MLCA) was ranked No. 2 and riding a 21-game winning streak going into the state tournament this weekend.

But none of that mattered as the Lions found out it's not how you got there; it's how you perform when you are there that counts.

"We played poorly and got beat," coach Duke Wood said. "And I really have no explanation as to why. We had been playing our best ball heading to state, but we hit some bumps in the road this weekend and our wheels fell off."Timing is everything they say and unfortunately, MLCA went into a slump at the wrong time as the team lost its first two games,and were knocked out of the medal rounds.

The Lions were looking to rebound from a first round 50-38 loss to Almira/Coulee-Hartline as they matched up with the Muckleshoot Wolves Friday morning in the consolation bracket for the right to play for fourth place.

But it wasn't in the cards for MLCA as the team dropped the game 67-57 to end the Lions season.

"Our defense really let us down in both games," Woods said. "We allowed ACH to shoot 65 percent from the floor and Muckleshoot 58 percent ... plus we let them hang 67 points on us."

MLCA got off to a slow start against the Wolves as Muckleshoot took a 16-7 lead at the end of the first quarter of action, and was up 30-17 at intermission.

" Being down double-digits at the half was something new for the guys as we have typically played with a lead all season long," Wood said. "I'm still not sure why we played so badly ... I think losing to ACH in the first round and not having a chance to play for the title was kind of a shock to the team and we were unable to recover from it and that may have had a lot to do with it."

Down by 13 to begin the second half of play and staring defeat square in the face, the Lions finally got their offense in gear and put 23 points on the board to the Wolves 16. That narrowed the gap to 46-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

But a 21-17 run by Muckleshoot put the game out of reach for MLCA.

Sixteen turnovers poor shooting from the floor (33 percent) and a less than stellar effort on defense were undoing for the Lions.

Joe Timofeyev lead the offensive attack for MLCA with 25 points.

Connor Webb added 12 points and eight rebounds, Lowell Kirkwood knocked down nine points, and Thomas Knopp finished with eight points and nine boards.

The Wolves were led by Ryan Oldman's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Preston Brown had 15 points, and Sean Taei finished with 11.

Despite the earlier than anticipated exit from the big dance, Wood said the season was a success.

"This isn't how we wanted to finish, but we did beat some very good teams along the way," he said. "The guys really worked their tails off this season ... so overall ... it's been a great year."