It wasn’t revenge for last season’s Class 5A state championship loss. It wasn’t even a statement game.
For seventh-ranked Cherry Creek, however, it was a win on the road against an archrival.
Forget the payback. Wednesday’s 54-52 Centennial League victory over Mullen had enough fresh faces to be an entirely new account.
“It still feels good,” Bruins power forward Taylor Montgomery said. “It’s a ‘Mullen vs. Creek, Creek wins’ thing. It’s not even the players. It just feels good to get a win, on them especially.”
Montgomery, a 6-foot-7 senior, was a force inside, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Bruins never trailed but had to endure a nervy finish, because the fifth-ranked Mustangs battled back in the final minute.
Karl Heimbrock scored 11 points for the Bruins, Trey Eckloff blocked four shots and Scott Traina came off the bench to knock down three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points as Cherry Creek’s bench outscored Mullen’s 14-2.
“Coach (Mike Brookhart) told me I got to bring a spark off the bench, so I just try to make the shots,” Traina said.
Cherry Creek (7-3, 3-0 in league) twice led by six in the fourth quarter, but missed eight free throws to keep the door open for the Mustangs (5-4, 2-1).
Seniors Devin Aguilar and Terrance Dent combined for 15 points on three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Dent’s final basket came with 13 seconds left to cut the deficit to 54-52.
Bruins guard Carter Ahlbrandt missed two free throws with 10 seconds left, and Aguilar got the ball but had it skip off his foot as he raced across midcourt.
Aguilar and Dent hit 16 of Mullen’s 20 baskets. Aguilar finished with a game-best 24 points, and Dent had 17.
Aguilar, the star in Mullen’s 54-40 victory over the Bruins in the state championship game last season, said he is looking forward to two transfers who are sitting out half the season joining the roster.
“We came to play hard at the end,” Aguilar said. “In the beginning is what killed us.”
Cherry Creek 9 17 14 14 – 54
Mullen 7 14 14 17 – 52
Cherry Creek – Ahlbrandt 1 1-5 3, Heimbrock 4 1-2 11, Link 1 0-0 2, Montgomery 5 9-12 19, Eckloff 1 3-4 5, Keeth 0 0-2 0, Traina 5 0-0 13, Elway 0 1-2 1, Giles 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 15-27 54.
Mullen – Aguilar 10 3-3 24, Dent 6 3-3 17, Arias 1 0-0 3, Safieddine 1 2-2 4, Theret 1 0-0 2, Belloni 1 0-0 2, Barry 0 0-0 0, Stackhouse 0 0-0 0, Friend 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-8 52.
3-point goals – Traina 3, Heimbrock 2; Dent 2, Aguilar, Arias. Total fouls – Cherry Creek 13, Mullen 20. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
