Overland blazes past Mustangs

 

AURORA – As Mullen nears the midway point of its Centennial League season, it is assessing its priorities.

After a 55-33 defeat at Overland, the Mustangs continue to search for answers.

The loss, the team’s eighth in succession, put the Mustangs at 3-11 overall, 0-6 in the Centennial.

Once again, Mullen found itself competing early, trailing 13-12 after a quarter and 25-18 at halftime.

However, the turnovers, the poor shooting (no 3-pointers and just 3-of-8 free throws) and the deflation arose again. The Mustangs never seriously challenged down the stretch and left the floor with disappointing looks.

“We’ve talked about what our goals are for the rest of the year,” Mullen head coach Bob Caton said afterward, “and it’s to go out and be competitive against these teams. You don’t have to be a good basketball player to do it, hustle, get on the floor, get on the boards and do some things everyone can do.

“We can play the rest of our season with our heads up.”

It’s a difficult spin for the Mustangs – they are out-talented in virtually every league matchup and their problems are magnified when they get on a negative roll that affects all aspects of their games. And when it has gone south, it has gone south quickly. Two binges of 8-0 and 7-0 sealed it for the Trailblazers.

“When we hit the wall offensively, we hit it defensively,” Caton said.

It ballooned on Friday as the Trailblazers (6-9, 3-3) displayed superior quickness in turning up their defensive pressure, and fared well inside on offensive rebounding and finishing despite having to go the rest of the way without talented 6-foot-10 center Graham Ike (nephew of former Patriots and Broncos tight end Daniel Graham), who recently had season-ending knee surgery.

“Their defense is good, they’re very quick,” Caton said of the Trailblazers. “They pressured us and we couldn’t swing the ball around.”

Junior pivot Brayden Carter again led the Mustangs with 18 points, the only one of five who scored and attained double figures.

Mullen will be back at it again quickly with a Saturday, Jan. 25 (7 p.m.), matchup at home at Hutchison Fieldhouse against longtime Parochial-rival Regis Jesuit, which has had its share of problems this season. The Raiders are 4-11 overall and dropped their first nine games.

 

Mullen – Thompson 3 2-3 8, Lopez 0 0-0 0, Bond 2 0-0 4, Heffern 0 0-0 0, Carter 9 0-3 18, Berg 0 1-2 1, Smith 1 0-0 2, Dominguez 0 0-0 0, Essex 0 0-0 0, DePizzol 0 0-0 0, Haas 0 0-0 0, McNally 0 0-0 0, Marsh 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-8 33.

Overland – Chaney 1 4-6 7, Deden 8 0-0 17, Editone 3 0-0 6, Cuasito 0 2-2 2, Veikalas 2 8-8 12, Hill 1 0-3 3, Adams 1 0-0 2, Abdur-Razaaq 1 0-1 2, Tiela 1 0-0 2, Homes 0 0-0 0, Swanson 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 16-22 55.

3-pt. goals – Chaney, Deden, Hill.