'Stangs fall just short to Eaglecrest
Mullen battles Raptors to final seconds in 53-49 loss; big regular-season finale on Saturday at Arapahoe.
They were right there …. thisclose.
Ultimately, the scoreboard indicated Mullen fell to a quite talented Eaglecrest 53-49 in Centennial League play at Hutchison Fieldhouse on Thursday night, but the Mustangs certainly had their chances, showed well in the next-to-last game of the regular season and perhaps convinced themselves that they can compete.
“Oh, yeah,” Mustangs head coach Bob Caton said. “The kids played really hard and I told them that if you play like that you can play with anybody.”
On Wednesday, the Mustangs did just that. Eaglecrest may be ranked only No. 15 in Class 5A, but the Raptors are 9-3 overall and 9-1 in league, just a game behind No. 2 and undefeated Cherry Creek, and the two will meet on Saturday to decide the title. But they also have a Division I wide receiver as well as others with speed, quickness and know-how.
“That’s a really good team,” Catron continued. “We had a good effort, a really good effort, and you can’t fault that.”
Mullen (7-6, 6-6) led early and often as Eaglecrest had turnover trouble and the Mustangs displayed patience on offense and made a concerted effort on defense. While the Raptors regained control in the middle quarters, outscoring the Mustangs 40-24, Mullen didn’t go away, riding Brayden Carter, Micah Leslie and Josh Lopez into the final moments.
The Mustangs had multiple chances to take the lead, but couldn’t do it. Their best came with 8.4 seconds to play and Eaglecrest at the free-throw line for a one-and-one situation and leading 51-49. The Raptors misfired, but the gifted Ty Robinson, headed to play wide receiver for the University of Colorado, skied, grabbed the rebound and fell down. He was able to call timeout. The Raptors inbounded and caught Mullen napping on defense, giving up a layup right down the lane to seal it.
Still, Caton couldn’t complain.
“A missed free throw and they get the rebound … Dang! … that’s just athleticism, that’s a prime-time Division I athlete there,” Caton said.
Carter again led Mullen with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Lopez scored 13 and Leslie had 10.
An encouraged Carter said “we lost to them last time (by 79-58), so it was a big jump from last game. Having separate coaches again helped, one doing the defense, the other the offense … it was a big help.”
With one regular-season game to play, Mullen, which Eaglecrest coach Jarris Krapcha said would be “a tough out” in the 5A playoffs, still has a lot to play for – particularly its first winning league record in 15 seasons.
“We’ll never be satisfied if it doesn’t go our way, but if you play like that and, basically, for the most part, play team ball, you can play with anyone,” Caton said.
And getting to 7-6 in the Centennial, Carter agreed, “would be a big deal.”
The Mustangs will be at Arapahoe on Saturday, 7:15 p.m.
EAGLECREST 53, MULLEN 49
Eaglecrest 6 17 23 7 – 53
Mullen 13 8 16 12 – 49
Eaglecrest – Robinson 0 2-2 2, Price 1 2-2 4, Elmoutaouakkil 5 2-4 14, Washington 7 1-1 17, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Legette 0 0-0 0, Jaudon 5 0-1 15, Miller 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 8-12 53.
Mullen – J. Leslie 0 0-0 0, Lopez 5 1-2 13, M. Leslie 5 0-0 10, Schmitt 2 0-0 4, Carter 7 2-2 16, Dominguez 2 0-0 6, Berg 0 0-0 0, Heffern 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 3-4 49.
3-pt. goals – Jaudon 5, Elmoutaouakkil 2, Washington 2; Dominguez 2, Lopez 2.
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