'Stangs can't get back-to-back victories

 

CENTENNIAL – The enjoyable moments for Mullen this season in terms of wins and losses have been few and far between.

And wouldn’t you know it – after their double-overtime victory on Saturday over Arapahoe to erase a 10-game losing streak, the Mustangs’ first opportunity to celebrate it at practice on Monday was canceled because of the snow.

So it goes for the Mustangs in 2019-20 …

They couldn’t follow up their recent performance on Wednesday night at Eaglecrest, where the Raptors rolled to a 69-33 spanking in the Centennial League. The more-talented Raptors are 13-5 overall, 5-4 in league to the Mustangs’ 4-14, 1-8.

Mullen’s flawed M.O. was evident again – it hung in there for a bit, but succumbed to pressure and threw in multiple errors of its own.

“Yeah, firsthand, we give them nine points, nine points on just throwing the ball away,” head coach Bob Caton said. “Then we take two or three shots that don’t fall and there you have it.”

It was only an 11-6 deficit after a quarter and the Mustangs were within range near halftime before the Raptors’ pressure and superior quickness and speed took over, leading to a 31-17 halftime edge. It only grew in the opening minutes of the second half.

Mullen became unglued.

“We’re still hanging in there, hanging in there, (the deficit is) 10 points, eight points, 10 points, whatever it is, but if you lose your focus, you’re in trouble,” Caton said.

Only five Mustangs scored, headed by junior Brayden Carter’s 12 points. He added 11 rebounds.

Mullen, which entered the game No. 48 in playoff qualifying – there will be a 48-team postseason field -- returns to action on Friday, 7 p.m., at home against Cherry Creek, which shares the league lead with Grandview at 8-1 (and 14-4 overall).

“We’ll get ‘em ready,” Caton said.

 

Mullen – Thompson 3 1-2 9, Lopez 1 0-0 2, Bond 2 4-5 8, Heffern 0 0-0 0, Carter 5 2-23 12, Smith 0 0-0 0, Berg 0 0-0 0, Essex 0 0-0 0, McNally 0 0-0 0, Haas 0 0-0 0, DePizzol 1 0-0 2, Dominguez 0 0-0 0, Marsh 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 7-9 33.

Eaglecrest – Ranzenberger 2 0-0 5, Stilson 0 0-0 0, Oladipo 4 0-1 8, Ruckard 8 1-2 17, Price 2 1-1 5, Ealey  4 0-0 8, Robinson 3 0-0 7, Wilson 6 0-0 15, Washington 2 0-0 4, Reece 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 2-4 69.

3-pt. goals – Thompson 2; Wilson 3, Ranzenberger, Robinson.