Mustangs rock Arapahoe
Mullen wins 81-53.
The disappointing home loss to Cherry Creek a couple of days ago has been forgotten by Mullen.
“That’s ancient history,” Mustangs head coach Bob Caton said on Saturday. “Now, we build on this one and keep going.”
The veteran coach was referring to the 81-53 Centennial League thrashing of Arapahoe by the Mustangs at Hutchison Fieldhouse, the one in which they responded to a tough-to-take loss, regathered their mojo, readied themselves for an extended road schedule and watched one of their new ones blossom.
“We played well and executed well,” Caton said after his team improved to 8-2 overall, 1-1 in league. “It showed what we’re made of.”
The Mustangs ran to an 8-0 lead, never trailed, didn’t appear to get into any real trouble and redisplayed their firepower.
Interestingly, Isaac White led Mullen with 16 points off the bench. A recognized all-around athlete, White led the team in scoring, made his first four shots and once again displayed the various aspects he can bring to the team.
And Mullen has been eagerly waiting – White, a junior and the son of Mustangs football head coach Vincent White, had been dealing with an injured ankle and missed practice time. With his mother and sisters still residing in Pennsylvania, White, also an All-Colorado football player, had returned to his previous home twice for visits over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and Caton has been patient in getting his new player acclimated. He looks forward to more of his contributions.
“He’s finally getting into a rhythm and he had been gone, been injured and only had a third of the days of practice,” Caton said. “Now, we have him going.”
In admitting that it’s not the start to the season he wanted, White said he’s just glad “I’m getting back in shape and back into the flow of things. Coach has asked me to be more aggressive, so I’m going to do what I need to do.”
White entered in the first quarter and scored 11 of his points by halftime as the Mustangs led 39-20. And there were plenty of contributors. Matt Veen added 14 points and Christian Davis had 12. Isaac Ondekane was big inside early on the way to nine points. Vaughnn Stitt also had nine points and Connor Riepma scored six. The Mustangs’ rotation was fluid and only some batches of turnovers and missed free throws (20-of-32) stood out negatively.
“It was a good game for us,” Caton said.
White added “our chemistry has gotten a lot better and I think it will keep getting better.”
MULLEN 81, ARAPAHOE 53
Arapahoe 8 12 20 13 -- 53
Mullen 24 15 25 17 -- 81
Arapahoe – Brophy 0 0-2 0, D’Agostino 8 1-6 18, Stephens 5 9-10 21, Baltzer 2 2-5 6, Sturgeon 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 2-2 2, Hill 0 0-0 0, Liberty 0 0-0 0, Fleming 1 0-0 3, McCann 0 0-0 0, Yagey 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 15-27 53.
Mullen – Davis 3 5-7 12, Veen 5 4-4 14, Stitt 2 3-4 9, Parris 1 0-0 3, Ondekane 4 1-3 9, Riepma 3 0-0 6, White 6 2-2 16, Thompson 0 3-4 3, Lopez 1 0-0 2, Beckish 1 0-0 2, Dominguez 0 2-3 2, Pohs 0 0-0 0, Berg 1 0-0 3.Totals 27 20-32 81.
3-pt. goals – Stephens 2, D’Agostino, Fleming; White 4, Stitt 2, Davis. Fouled out – Liberty. Technical –D.Agostino.
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