For three quarters Wednesday at the ThunderDome, 12th-seeded Regis had most of the gym believing in Cinderella.
Robbie Hanzlik was the evil stepmother.
The clock struck midnight for the Raiders, as Mullen – the top seed in the RW Truscott Region – advanced to the Great 8 with a 57-45 victory.
Mullen (23-2) will play Gateway on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
“We were lacking in our aggressiveness,” Hanzlik said, “and once we started to pick that up, the game started flowing.”
Mullen was up 36-35 entering the final quarter, and with its first shot of the period built its biggest lead. Hanzlik hit a 3-pointer to put the Mustangs up 39-35.
Regis (10-16) got back within two on its next possession but never got any closer, as Hanzlik, Devin Aguilar and Jamon Allen got to the basket.
“We need to start playing like we are capable of for a full four quarters,” said Hanzlik, whose father, Bill, watched from the top row in the gym. “There are some pretty good teams left, and we really need to focus on that.”
Regis’ outside shooting, which helped the Raiders get past Arvada West in the previous round, was cold down the stretch. Jim Spierings hit the lone 3-pointer of the quarter, and Mullen’s zone made it difficult for the Raiders to get a clean look.
“We gave ourselves a chance; we just made some poor decisions down the stretch,” Regis coach Steve Barnett said. “That zone really helped them out, and we just didn’t handle it very well.”
Mullen’s 6-foot-11 Ray Hall paced all scorers with 17 points, none in the fourth quarter, and five blocked shots. Hanzlik and Aguilar each chipped in 16 points.
Jeff Peters led the Raiders with 16 points and Andrew Scheid finished with nine.
Regis 9 11 14 11 – 45
Mullen 10 14 11 22 – 57
Regis – Ortiz 2 2-3 6, Peters 5 6-6 16, Harvey 2 0-0 5, Scheid 4 0-0 9, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Spierings 1 0-3 3, DeWitt 0 0-0 0, Wylie 1 0-0 2, Thomas 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 8-12 45.
Mullen – Aguilar 4 8-11 16, Ward 2 0-0 4, Shaw 0 0-2 0, Hanzlik 5 5-6 16, Hall 6 5-9 17, Allen 2 0-0 4, Theret 0 0-2 0, Elges 0 0-0 0, Brugman 0 0-0 0, Stathopulos 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 18-28 57.
3-pt. goals – Harvey, Scheid, Spierings; Hanzlik. Total fouls – Regis 17; Mullen 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
