The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Down two guards
The Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team collapsed against the Ouray Trojans on Saturday, February 2, losing 54-42. Coach Robin Loyed is willing to take a lot of the blame.
“I did a poor job preparing the team for what was going to be a tough game,” says Loyed.
But there were other mitigating factors that contributed to the league loss.
For one, the Titans committed 22 turnovers in the game.
“Their defense was good and we turned the ball over a ton,” says Loyed. “That just killed us.”
Second, they were missing two guards of their four-guard rotation.
With senior Joe Bosshard gone and senior Alexei Desmarais nursing a leg injury, Loyed was left with little room for alterations. So, when the Trojans started to pull away in the third quarter, Loyed was somewhat handcuffed.
“Normally we can change things up but we were so thin we didn’t have too many options,” says Loyed. “We missed their (Bosshard and Desmarais) points and senior leadership.”
The game started well enough for the Titans building a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but they were outscored 36-14 over the course of the second and third quarters.
While the Trojans converted turnovers into lay ups, the Titans struggled from three-point range, hitting just three of 11 shots allowing the Trojans to build a 42-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Titans were handed one last blow when junior John Wright fouled out in the fourth quarter and the two teams traded baskets as the Trojans held on for the 54-42 win.
Wright ended up leading the Titans with 14 points and six steals. Seniors Randy Evans and Will Curry scored eight points and six points respectively and junior Robbie Holleran had six points and seven steals in the game.
The Titans have two games on the road against non-league opponents Nucla and Moffat and then get a shot at revenge against Ouray on Saturday, February 9 at 5:30 p.m. at Mt. Olympus.
Loyed looks forward to the rematch with Ouray as an opportunity to initiate a solid finish to the regular season.
“We have the opportunity to get right back on track against them,” says Loyed.
