The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“As soon as we didn’t go on that initial run to get back in the game, it was over”
Play tight defense, hit free throws, limit turnovers and rebound and more often than not, you’re going to win the basketball game. If and when your shooters get hot, you’ll win the game for sure. That’s exactly what Sanford did when they came into Mt. Olympus Friday, January 20 and decimated the Crested Butte Titans 66-25.
The first quarter was more of what coach Brandin Hamilton hoped for that night as the Titans were playing Titan ball and holding Sanford in check. Junior Jesse Reeves was penetrating for buckets. The twin towers of junior Kane Hamilton and senior Anton Peck had a couple big blocks inside and Kane put up five points in the first quarter as the Titans held Sanford to a one-point lead after one quarter of play.
“I do feel we started well,” says Brandin. “We wanted to run and we wanted to test their guards, which we did early but we weren’t getting our points in any sustainable way. We couldn’t get into our half-court offense.”
The game then fell completely apart for Crested Butte. Sanford’s point guard opened the second quarter hitting three shots from behind the three-point arc. They shot six for eight from the free-throw line while the Titans shot three for seven and outscored the Titans 18-4 in the second quarter to build a 29-14 lead by halftime.
Halftime typically offers a team a chance to regroup, and Brandin is a student of the game who is able to make necessary adjustments to remedy situations.
“I was still confident that we were going to go out there, chip away and make it a ball game,” says Brandin.
Unfortunately, no matter what a coach does, if his players commit lazy fouls and their opponent hits their free throws, games go from bad to worse.
Kane committed his third foul of the game in the first minute of the third quarter and had to sit. Senior Sean Johnson did what he could in the paint, hitting a six-footer and playing tough defense but Sanford kept coming.
Kane came back into the game only to foul out with three minutes left in the third quarter and Sanford built a 48-20 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“As soon as we didn’t go on that initial run to get back in the game, it was over,” says Brandin.
Sophomore Grant Johnson, Sean and senior Luis Aguirre did what they could to stem the onslaught but Sanford maintained relentless pressure on defense and offense to run away with the game. Reeves led the team scoring 11 points.
“I was proud that they went out there and played hard to finish a game that was unwinnable,” says Brandin. “Grant, Sean and Luis did exactly what we needed them to do.”
The Titans hope to recoup from the loss this week as they prepare to hit the road for a game against league opponent Del Norte on Friday, January 27. The Titans fell to Del Norte earlier this year but that was with a different Titans team, as they were still recovering from injuries and eligibility.
“They’re going to be tough but we’re going to look a lot different this time around,” says Brandin. “I think we can win the game but we have to play 32 minutes of good basketball.”
The Titans return home to mighty Mt. Olympus the following Friday, February 3 when they host South Park. Tip off for the JV is at 4:30 p.m., with the varsity game slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
