Two proud and vastly successful boys basketball teams had a chance Thursday to somewhat avenge a drastically off-year.

Lincoln did that. For Mullen, the heartache continued.

The Lancers, behind a stellar performance by Brazilian center Dawton Queiroz, which included a key blocked shot in the waning moments, stormed back late to claim a 52-49 home win in an entertaining first-round matchup in the Class 5A state tournament.

The seventh-seeded Lancers advance to face the Doherty (the Casey Region’s No. 2 seed) on Saturday while 10th-seeded Mullen’s season ended with a seventh consecutive defeat.

“The coach (Vince Valdez) told us to work hard on ‘D’, and I was able to do the blocked shot,” said Queiroz of swatting Mullen forward Leilon Willingham’s shot with 16 seconds remaining and Lincoln clinging to a 50-49 lead.

“I told him, ‘you put your hands up, kid, nobody’s going to call a foul on you,’” Lincoln guard Danny Rodriguez said. “‘They’re not going to be able to shoot it over you.’”

Queiroz, who arrived at Lincoln in midseason after moving in from Brazil, recorded game-bests of 16 points and 12 rebounds and Rodriguez converted the go-ahead free throws in the final minute.

Mullen (8-15) maintained a narrow lead throughout the second half until Lincoln reserve guard Chris Abeyta’s three-pointer gave the Lancers a 48-47 lead with 1:36 left.

Mullen countered with an inside bucket by Nick Johnson to take the lead back 49-48 with 1:06 to play. That’s when Rodriguez, who had been scoreless, was fouled with 37 seconds remaining and calmly converted two free throws to give the Lancers (12-12) the lead for good.

“You’re supposed to make free throws – that’s why they call them free throws,” said Rodriguez, who moved out of position to play point guard this season. “You stay patient, you don’t pay attention to the crowd and you do what you’re supposed to do.”

Clinging to the 50-49 lead, Queiroz swatted Willingham’s shot as he attempted to drive his way to the hoop via the right baseline.

Mullen had another chance after Lincoln missed the ensuing free throw, but Rodriguez tipped the ball away from Willingham at half court for a steal. Abeyta then drilled two free throws in the waning moments.

“It was a gamble but I don’t regret it,” Rodriguez said of poking the ball away. “It’s how I play this game.”

Abeyta scored 13 of his 15 in the second half, including three three-pointers. Mullen didn’t convert a three-pointer in the game and ended up with another frustrating defeat in what has been a trying season.

“They just came with a lot of energy at the end,” Mullen guard Mario Conte said. “I don’t think we were lacking energy, but we just needed to play a little smarter with the lead.”

Mullen, led by 15 points from center Jack Osborn, often is a team that can be penciled into the deeper rounds of the tournament, but things never fully meshed this season for coach Porter Cutrell’s Mustangs.

“It was a rough year; we were expecting a little more,” Conte said. “It was up and down. We had some glimpses where we were playing good but we could never keep it consistent.”

Mullen. . . . . . . . . . . 12 14 14 9 – 49

Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . 11 13 12 16 – 52

M - Uriah Carter 3 3-5 9, Mario Conte 3 4-6 10, Ryan Hewitt 1 0-2 2, Jack Osborn 7 1-2 15, Leilon Willingham 3 0-0 6, Erik Giacomozzi 0 0-1 0, Brennan Belloni 1 1-2 3, Nick Johnson 1 2-2 4, Ryan Elges 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-20 49.

L - Dominic Williams 2 0-0 4, Alonso Jurado 0 0-0 0, Sean Williams 5 1-8 13, Dawton Queiroz 6 4-6 16,Danny Rodriguez 0 2-3 2, Chris Abeyta 5 2-2 15, Jose Zamora 0 0-0 0, Thaubert Carvalho 1 0-1 2, Cory Vasquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-20 52.

Three-point goals - M, none. L, Abeyta 3, S. Williams 2. Fouled out - Osborn. D. Williams.