The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Defend Mt. Olympus with win over Creede
The Titans boys’ basketball team proved once again that defense is the key to success. It also doesn’t hurt when you’ve got two players averaging more than 20 points per game.
The Titans record now stands at 10-0 after wins on the road against Aguilar and Cotopaxi over the weekend and a huge home stand against league rival Creede on Monday, January 19.
Senior Chris “The Reverend Al Sharpton” Sharpe (you’ll have to ask him) had a career performance Friday, January 16, hitting six of eight from three-point range for a total of 22 points on the night, as the Titans cruised to a 73-35 win. Senior John Wright had a double-double performance with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Robbie Holleran scored 13 points and dished out nine assists.
The senior triumvirate and team defense continued their collective attack on their opponents the following day, as the Titans rolled to a 43-36 against Cotopaxi.
Sharpe dropped in 11 points and Wright had his second consecutive double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Holleran’s effort was the icing on the cake as he registered a double-double as well with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The two wins were merely a warm-up, though, for the Titans first major challenge of the season as they returned to Mt. Olympus to face the Creede Miners on Monday, January 19.
The Miners came into Crested Butte undefeated with a 7-0 record and tied for first place in the Southern Peaks league with Crested Butte.
Last season, Wright wreaked havoc upon the Miners and it was apparent from the opening tip-off that they were determined to try to shut Wright down.
Their effort paid off in that Wright found it difficult to break loose for easy buckets but it failed in that it left the door wide open for Holleran to dominate as Holleran lit up the scoreboard for 31 points and dominated the key pulling down 18 rebounds.
“You can game plan for one of them but you can’t stop both of them,” says Titans head coach Robin Loyed.
The real difference in the game though came from the Titans team defense as they held the Miners half court offense to 39 points for the 50-39 win to take sole possession of first place and remain undefeated with a 10-0 record.
Holleran scored 10 of the Titans’ 12 points in the first quarter but the Miners’ patience on offense paid off as they responded to every Titan bucket. The Miners then closed the quarter with a three-pointer at the buzzer to hold Crested Butte to a two-point lead.
Holleran continued his efforts on offense out hustling everyone on the court for rebounds and tough baskets underneath.
Creede took a brief one-point lead midway through the second quarter, but Crested Butte came back to build a five-point lead when freshmen Anton Peck fought through two Miners for a basket in the paint.
Wright eventually broke free in the third quarter to score seven of his 11 points. Wright opened with a turn around 10-foot jump shot, drained a three-pointer from well beyond the arc and then drove coast-to-coast for a pull-up jumper to lead the Titans to a 35-25 lead.
An offensive rebound and basket from sophomore Jake Grogg capped the third quarter and the Titans never looked back, holding the lead through the fourth quarter.
Creede forced a couple of turnovers, the Titans gave the ball up only nine times in the game, but the Titans defense left the Miners no room to shoot, with a perimeter man-to-man set-up to prevent the Miners from ever climbing back.
Loyed touts the efforts of Sharpe and sophomores Henry Linehan and Sky Egelhoff for their work on defense.
“Our game plan was to take them out of their comfort zone and pressure the ball outside the three-point range,” says Loyed. “That’s our hallmark. We play great defense.”
Sitting with a 10-0 record, Loyed still feels the best is yet to come for his Titans team. For one, several players have stepped up into pivotal roles, allowing Loyed to go to his bench with confidence.
“We now have a seven-man rotation that’s really strong.” Says Loyed.
Furthermore, eight of their 10 wins have come on the road.
“We have a good record given we’ve been on the road so much,” says Loyed. “Our best days are still ahead of us.”
The boys host Holy Trinity on Friday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. and Centennial on Saturday, January 24 at 3:30 p.m.
