2-16 Basketball Roundup
'Stangs' girls cut loose against Eaglecrest in a 58-38 victory headed by Freelon; boys hang for a bit before being blown out by Raptors 61-45.
It was a blowout, then it wasn’t, then it was …
Bottom line – Mullen girls ran past host Eaglecrest 58-38 in the Centennial League on a cold, snowy Wednesday night.
The game was moved ahead by an hour in order to beat some of the snow. Mustangs head coach Frank Cawley said he “was scared” about getting the game completed and may have come to a conclusion about his team, the three-time-defending Class 4A champion currently ranked No. 2.
The Mustangs, now 15-6 overall, 7-3 in league, led 16-0 after a quarter and did so in familiar fashion.
“Defense was phenomenal,” Cawley said. “And we’ll go as far as our defense will take us. Some days offense is there; some days it’s not.
“I think I maybe made a mistake there to get us into some set stuff – do we need a basket and what do we do? With this defense, we’ll be a tough team to beat (in the postseason that begins next week). When we got that big lead, I decided to run some sets and that’s my mistake.”
Eaglecrest (11-10, 2-8) stayed within range into the third quarter before Mullen’s superior athleticism turned it into another rout.
“I didn’t make the same mistake twice,” Cawley said.
At the front of Mustangs effort was Kilah Freelon, clearly feeling better after an earlier injury. She led all scorers with 26 points, but her defense, rebounding, shot-blocking and ability to roil up and down the floor continued to separate the Texas Tech signee from the rest of the competition.
“It was pretty good,” Freelon said. “I was super-excited to get back. It has been great.”
Said Cawley: “She just opens up the floor for everyone else.”
Gracie Gallegos added 17 points and Mullen enjoyed other solid efforts from Imani Perez and Allison Schwertner.
The Mustangs will complete the regular season on Friday, 5:30 p.m. at home, against Arapahoe in league.
The 4A playoff bracket is due Sunday.
MULLEN 58, EAGLECREST 38
Mullen 16 12 11 19 -- 58
Eaglecrest 0 13 12 13 -- 38
Mullen – Gutierrez 0 1-2 1, Perez 1 0-0 2, Freelon 11 4-6 26, Schwertner 2 1-2 5, Gallegos 6 4-6 17, Giacomin 0 1-2 1, Jones 3 0-0 6, Thomas 0 0-0 0, DeLoach 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 11-18 58.
Eaglecrest – Esser 0 3-4 3, Roffle 1 2-4 4, Back 1 0-0 2, McKenzie 3 6-7 12, Ramiro 1 2-2 5, Perkins 1 0-0 2, Bickerstaff 2 0-0 5, Farbes 2 0-0 5. Totals 11 13-17 38.
3-pt. goals – Gallegos; Bickerstaff, Farbes, Ramiro. Technicals – Gutierrez, Bickerstaff, Eaglecrest bench.
Boys
The Mustangs hung around for a half before losing to the Raptors in league.
Mullen is 6-14 overall, 2-10 in the Centennial. Eaglecrest is 17-4, 11-1, and clinched the league title.
Mustangs head coach Bob Caton pointed to similar concerns.
“We hang in there, then have a bunch of unforced errors,” he said.
Mullen trailed only 28-20 at halftime before a 9-0 run by the Raptors to open the third quarter all but sealed it. Its deliberate approach had offset the Raptors’ superior height, speed and quickness for a while, but Eaglecrest’s pressure defense ultimately pushed the pace.
Jack Diasselliss (nine points), Micah Leslie (eight), and Ethan Heffern and Jordan Leslie (seven each) led Mullen.
With the loss, Mullen is at No. 51 in the 5A RPI. Forty-eight teams will make the postseason bracket. Mullen will host No. 46 Arapahoe on Friday (7 p.m.) and No. 20 Highlands Ranch on Saturday (4 p.m.).
EAGLECREST 61, MULLEN 45
Mullen 8 12 9 16 -- 45
Eaglecrest 11 17 18 15 -- 61
Mullen – J. Leslie 2 1-2 7, Lopez 1 0-1 3, Heffern 3 0-0 7, Smith 2 0-0 4, M. Leslie 4 0-2 8, Lay 1 2-6 4, Diasselliss 2 3-3 9, Roth 1 0-0 3, Jerez 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-13 45.
Eaglecrest – Jaudon 0 0-0 0, Bryant 1 0-0 2, Washington 4 0-1 11, T. Barger 3 0-0 6, El Moutaouakkil 10 1-2 23, King 2 0-0 5, Ray 1 0-2 2, Taylor 1 0-0 2, Sanders 0 0-0 0, G. Barger 4 0-0 8, Brown 0 2-2 2, Horton 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 3-6 61.
3-pt. goals – J. Leslie 2, Diasselliss 2, Heffern, Lopez, Roth; Washington 3, El Moutaouakkil 2, King.
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