Ondekane, Mustangs overcome Cougars

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen SPorts Information Director
Mullen wins 66-60.
AURORA -- High-school schedulers can be silly.
Ask Mullen. On Wednesday night, the Mustangs began a stretch of seven-of-eight games on the road in the Centennial League. Their 66-60 victory at Cherokee Trail was testing and there’s the promise of more. Much more.
“Oh, yeah, this is tough,” Mustangs head coach Bob Caton said. “That’s a good team.”
Mullen moved to 9-2 overall, 2-1 in league. Cherokee Trail is 5-7, 0-3.
Close? The largest lead was seven points. Tough? Mustangs senior forward Matt Veen took a shot to his left eye that forced the bleeding of a cut on a boxer. And fulfilling? Afterward, Caton and his staff preached the importance and benefits of such a road victory in what is turning into the deepest Class 5A loop.
“We got the job done,” the coach said. “It wasn’t always pretty, but we did a good job.”
About the best-looking aspect of Mullen’s game involved junior center Isaac Ondekane, who clearly is settling into an improved role. In addition to his 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks – including on a dunk attempt – Ondekane overcame early foul trouble, had his best outing in terms of catching the ball in position to score and further cementing the confidence his teammates have in him.
“I was just not letting it get into my head or my game,” he said of a couple of early fouls, then a third. “I made some dumb mistakes, but wasn’t letting it affect me. I felt like I deserved to be on the floor because I’ve been working hard.”
Down the stretch, Ondekane scored seven of Mullen’s final 13 points. Guard Brady Parris canned two big free throws as did Vaughnn Stitt, and Caton kept a short bench. Just seven Mustangs saw minutes, but it was a proving ground of sorts as the meat of their schedule awaits.
“This was a great road win and we needed it,” Caton said. “These are the kinds of games we need to have and we’ll see the rest of the way.”
Save for some late turnovers, Mullen protected well late. Ondekane, Veen (11 points, eight rebounds) and Connor Riepma (six points) fared well inside with Parris, Stitt, Christian Davis (11 points) and junior Isaac White handling guard duties.
The Mustangs also won despite 8-of-19 free-throw shooting, 1-of-6 by Ondekane, as Caton was pleased with the team’s ability to continue to find ways to win. So was Ondekane.
“This was a real good one for us,” he said.
Next up is a Saturday matchup at Eaglecrest in Centennial, Jan. 12, 2:30 p.m.
 
MULLEN 66, CHEROKEE TRAIL 60
Mullen  15  14  24  13  --  66
Cherokee Trail  12 18  19  11  –  60
Mullen – Davis 4 1-2 11, Veen 5 1-4 11, Stitt 2 2-2 7, Parris 3 2-3 9, Ondekane 10 1-6 21, Riepma 3 0-0 6, White 0 1-2 1. Totals 27 8-19 66.
Cherokee Trail – Robinson 4 0-0 9, K. Townsie 3 0-0 8, Jordan 3 1-1 7, B. Townsie 3 0-0 7, Tesfaye 8 1-5 17, Sanders 3 1-2 7, Deaderick 2 0-0 5, Vincent 0 0-0 0, Toledo 0 0-0 0, Roberts 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 3-8 60.
3-pt. goals – Davis 2, Parris, Stitt; K. Townsie 2, Deaderick, Robinson, B. Townsie.
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