Three of the teams qualifying for the Class 5A boys basketball final four won or shared their league championship and have won more than 20 games.

Mullen wasn't even close to winning the Centennial League; the Mustangs finished fifth. They haven't won 20 games, only 16. And yet, here they are - again.

The reasons for Mullen's sluggish start this season have been well-documented. Guards Devin Aguilar and Kyle Theret, plus forward Terrance Dent, played football all the way to the title game.

Stan Jones had to sit out half the season after transferring from George Washington. The Mustangs' starting lineup usually looked as if it was names drawn from a hat. It takes time for those things to jell, but the time eventually came.

"We won the last two regular-season games, against Eaglecrest and Fairview," Mullen coach Porter Cutrell said. "We were struggling and found our stride. I cut down the amount of guys I was playing and that kind of helped us."

Mullen, a fifth seed, will face off late tonight against undefeated Aurora Central. Although the Mustangs are defending state champions, the Trojans have been the top 5A team all season. Coach Bob Caton's team began the year as the No. 1-ranked team by the Rocky Mountain News.

That doesn't bother the Mustangs.

"We've been the underdog so far, in the last four games," Cutrell said. "We've lost more games in two weeks than Central's lost in two years. They're impressive, extremely athletic and tough to guard. They didn't get to 26-0 without being tough."

Ah, but the Trojans have been down this path before. For the past three seasons, Central completed the regular season with an undefeated record and didn't made it to the final four until this year.

This Trojans team, though, has some players who have been hardened by those upsets. Stephen Franklin and Sean Cunningham are the leaders, seniors made of tougher stuff than their predecessors.

In view of those past disappointments, even making it to the Coors Events Center is not enough to placate the Trojans' state championship thirst.

"We're excited, but that's not our goal. We're not satisfied," Cunningham said. "The final four means nothing."

Central didn't have its usual easy time but got past Cherry Creek 55-41. Cunningham scored 21 points and shared rebounding honors with Franklin, with eight.

The Trojans and Mustangs haven't met this season, but their coaches tangled in the 2001 championship game, when Caton was at George Washington. Mullen, and Cutrell, won that one.

Caton believes this next round will be another big test.

"It's going to be tough. All our players know it," he said. "Everybody that gets this far, games are hard- fought games. You get the best teams around. I'm glad our kids get to experience this and I'm glad for the coaching staff."

Doherty and Denver East meet in the 7 p.m. semifinal.

East already has advanced a couple of steps beyond last year.

"We got to the Sweet 16 last year and it was all new to these kids," Angels coach Rudy Carey said. "That experience was invaluable to getting back this year. Our coaches have been working tremendously hard on getting these kids focused and conditioned. We feel that we're as good a conditioned team as there is in the tournament."

Doherty is the most balanced team in the tournament. Coach Dan McKiernan's Spartans have the shot-erasing post player, Garrett Fiddler, the other teams lack and two hard-nosed forwards in V.J. Holmes and Travis Moritz.

Guard Bryse Velasquez is a sophomore, so he hasn't been as highly touted, but he hit five of six shots against Monarch in the quarterfinals, scoring 21 points. James Webb added 15. Monarch played extremely well in that one, but the Spartans won 73-66.

Doherty also demolished the Angels, 81-66, in the season opener.

"We're looking forward to a rematch with Doherty," Carey said. "We're not the same team now that we were then. We've matured tremendously. They're a better team too."

Team-by-team capsules

Aurora Central (26-0)

• Season recap: Only undefeated team in 5A; No. 1 seed finished first in the Skyline League.

• Top players: Stephen Franklin (20.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 4.4 assists, 1.2 blocks), Sean Cunningham (17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds 4.3 steals, 6.0 assists), Josh Bond (8.5 points, 7.3 rebounds), Davy Johnson (8.7 points, 2.0 steals) and Caston Mabin (8.3 points, 6.2 rebounds).

• Tip-ins: Franklin is a 6-foot-6 Colorado State recruit. Cunningham celebrated his 18th birthday with the quarterfinals victory against Cherry Creek. He handles the point and is one of the slickest passers around. Mabin, a 6-5 power forward, doesn't start but provided 10 points and four rebounds against the Bruins after Bond got into foul trouble. Johnson shot 0-for-4 from the floor in that one but went 5-for-6 on free throws. One of the Trojans' purported weaknesses is the lack of a dominant big man. However, Joseph Goyer and Mabin held Cherry Creek's 6-10 Trey Eckloff to four points, and 6-7 Taylor Montgomery to 11. Aurora Central won the 4A state championship in 1983, when that was the largest classification.

Denver East (22-3)

• Season recap: The Angels, a No. 2 seed, finished in a three-way tie for the Denver Prep League title.

• Top players: Donell Wells (18.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 steals, 3.3 assists), Mookey Gilbert (13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks), Blake Swain (14.0 points, 2.8 assists, 44 percent on three-pointers) and Jordan Martinez (9.6 points, 5.4 rebounds).

• Tip-ins: The Angels are looking to avenge an 84-66 loss at Doherty on Dec. 1, when head coach Rudy Carey was ejected at halftime. Martinez, only 6-1, hauled in 15 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory against Smoky Hill. The Angels held the Buffaloes to a .192 shooting mark in the first half, which included a 0-for-9 mark on three-pointers. Swain was credited with six steals in that game, more than triple his season average. Denver East's other losses this season were in Nevada to Cheyenne, a Las Vegas school, and Montbello, in the regular-season finale. Gilbert's real first name is Kenneth, but he was given the frequently misspelled nickname of Mookey by his mother. Carey has won six state championships as a head coach, three at Manual and three at East. The latter titles came in 1996, 1999 and 2004. East has won eight state championships in basketball.

Doherty (24-2)

• Season recap: The Spartans, a No. 1 seed, won the Colorado Springs Metro League.

• Top players: V.J. Holmes (16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds), Garrett Fiddler (15.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.0 blocks), James Webb (11.3 points, 3.7 assists), Bryse Velasquez (9.5 points, 6.3 assists) and Travis Moritz (8.1 points).

• Tip-ins: Yale recruit Fiddler is one of the best shot blockers ever to play in Colorado, using mobility and timing to lead the state in that category. Holmes is very effective underneath, whether banking in a jumper or getting an offensive rebound. With 21 points, Velasquez played superbly on offense in a tough quarterfinal against Monarch, but the Spartans allowed Brooks Bajcar to score 28 points and hit eight three-pointers. The Spartans have attracted a lot of crowd support this season, but Doherty fans were outnumbered by Monarch's fans last week at the Denver Coliseum. Doherty's only losses this season were early at ThunderRidge and in league play while hosting Palmer, which the Spartans beat the next week. Doherty never has won a state basketball championship, but coach Dan McKiernan won the 1993 title when he was at Palmer.

Mullen (16-10)

• Season recap: The Mustangs, a No. 5 seed, finished fifth in the Centennial League.

• Top players: Devin Aguilar (17.8 points), Terrance Dent (14.6 points), Hassan Safieddine (9.0 points), Stan Jones (7.3 points), David Burns (6.0 points) and Kyle Theret (4.8 points).

• Tip-ins: Mullen is the defending champion in Class 5A, but only Aguilar and Theret were significant players for the state titlists. The Mustangs might not have an impressive record, but they didn't have their full squad until midseason. Burns and Spencer McCullough, who did not stand out during the regular season, have had strong performances in key playoff games. Dent, a move-in from Laramie, is a top defender and three-point shooter. Aguilar, the All-Colorado offensive player of the year in football, is headed to the University of Washington, where he again hopes to play both sports. He is good friends with some Aurora Central players and visited their locker room Saturday after the Trojans beat Smoky Hill. Head coach Porter Cutrell guided Mullen to state titles in 2001 and 2006, the only time the Mustangs have won basketball championships.

pearcea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5352

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