'Stangs trip at Eaglecrest
Raptors win 74-64.
Photo by John Leyba, Mullen Sports Photographer
Mullen senior Matt Veen gets instruction from head coach Bob Caton, top; Vaughnn Stitt at the hoop, below.
CENTENNIAL – When it was over, they were calling it “a bump in the road” and hoping that’s all it was.
Plus, the game spoke to what the Centennial League is, as in probably the deepest big-school group in the state.
So, yes, Saturday afternoon’s 74-64 loss by Mullen to host Eaglecrest in league play was tough to take, but, no, the setback, while disappointing, shouldn’t be enough to dent the Mustangs’ confidence. They have so much more to do and are staring at lots of opportunity.
Plus, their foes next week are defending state champion Grandview and Smoky Hill, so significant competition will continue. “A little bit of a bump,” Mustangs head coach Bob Caton said of his team that’s now 9-3 overall, 2-2 in league. “But we’re executing well at times and this is how life is in the league.”
It certainly is. The Raptors (8-5, 3-1), swept a year ago by the Mustangs after winning the state championship in 2017, have already taken on the upper-end likes of Legend, Mountain Vista, Fairview, Regis Jesuit, Overland and Cherry Creek. And the Mustangs are in the early part of a stretch of seven-of-eight games on the road.
Still, the Mustangs had their chances before repeated missed shots in the paint, so-so free-throw shooting, foul trouble and being a step slow on defense helped to decide it.
Bright spots for the Mustangs included sweet-shooting senior guard Christian Davis, who led all scorers with 25 points; Isaac Ondekane, who added 14 points and 13 rebounds; and Isaac White, who continued to be valuable off the bench and scored 12 points.
In addition, the Mustangs, who trailed by 10 points in the second quarter and 42-33 at halftime, cut the Raptors lead to 47-45 in the third quarter. However, while Mullen flirted with taking the lead, some of its above problems transpired and it never recovered.
“If we can just eliminate those mistakes …” Caton said. “We played hard and then we do what we do, but then just sort of kick ourselves in the butt. We just need to take care of what we have to take care of.”
Ondekane eventually fouled out and senior Matt Veen (eight points, seven rebounds) earlier was disqualified through fouls.
The Mustangs also will host Broomfield’s Holy Family, lower levels and feeder-program games on Saturday in an extra gathering to celebrate the Old Parochial League.
Much awaits the Mustangs, who have time to recover and fix some of their problems.
“We’ll be all right,” Caton said.
EAGLECREST 74, MULLEN 64
Mullen 16 17 14 17 – 64
Eaglecrest 15 27 15 17 -- 74
Mullen – Davis 7 9-10 25, Veen 4 0-1 8, Stitt 1 0-0 3, Parris 0 1-2 1, Ondekane 3 8-11 14, White 5 0-0 12, Thompson 0 1-2 1, Riepma 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 19-27 64.
Eaglecrest – Robinson 6 10-10 23, Bokol 5 4-4 17, Ruckard 6 2-3 16, Bile 2 2-4 6, Wilson 3 3-4 11, Stilson 0 1-2 1, Lopez 0 0-0 0, Europe 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 22-27 74.
3-pt. goals – Davis 2, White 2, Stitt; Bokol 3, Ruckard 2, Wilson 2, Robinson. Fouled out – Veen, Ondekane; Bokol.
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