Ottawa ? Before the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Class 4A sub-state championship game at Ottawa High, both the Ottawa and Burlington fans were yelling, “Go big red!”

Only one “big red” would win a spot in state-tournament play in Salina, and after a back-and-forth first half the Cyclones finally triumphed, 75-65.

The Cyclones (20-3) nearly blew the Wildcats (17-6) out of gym in the first quarter, outscoring Burlington 18-9.

The Wildcats roared back in the second by shredding Ottawa’s zone via quick football-like passes that led to easy layups and jumpers. At halftime, Ottawa led 35-33.

Cyclones coach David Grover told his team in the third quarter to play defense the old-fashioned way.

“In the second half we had to throw every trick out and just play man-to-man defense, and that’s why we won the game,” Grover said.

It was easy to tell this was an important game — the Ottawa gym was a sauna with hundreds of fans in attendance. Both cheering sections were loud the entire game, but the Cyclone faithful had the final hurrah.

“The crowd is an excellent intimidation factor,” Ottawa senior Ross Thompson said. “Sub-state wouldn’t be the same without the crowd.”

Thompson finished with 19 points and junior Lee Baldwin poured in 26, a majority of which came from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Junior Andrew Maxwell added 16, as the trio accounted for 81 percent of the Cyclones’ points.

Burlington sophomore Mitchell Garrett led the Wildcats with 19 before fouling out. Junior Tyler Stewart added 18.

After the game, a Final Four-esque net cutting took place, as each ecstatic Cyclone snipped a piece of nylon.

“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” Baldwin said. “We’ve been playing since second grade with getting to state in mind.”

Thompson kept everything in perspective.

“Getting to state is halfway there,” Thompson said. “It’s half the battle. We got quite a challenge in Salina and I think we’re ready to take the challenge.”

Ottawa will play Wednesday against a to-be-determined opponent.

Ottawa 75, Burlington 65

Burlington 9 24 13 19 — 65

Ottawa 18 17 18 22 — 75

Burlington: Mitchell Garrett 19, Tyler Stewart 18, Cody Isbell 7, Brett Friend 7, Jason Schuh 4, Joe Augustyn 3, Bobby Merry 3, Ben Hedges 2, J.R. Smith 2.

Ottawa: Lee Baldwin 26, Ross Thompson 19, Andrew Maxwell 16, Jarod Sigmund 5, Clint Bones 4, Gabe Sheffield 3, Caleb Blakesley 2.