The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Big weekend coming up
“I was pretty apprehensive after the first quarter,” said Titans boys coach Robin Loyed of his team’s effort Friday night against the Centennial Rams.
Fortunately, the Titans recovered to put together three solid quarters of hoops to open league play with a 53-44 win.
The Titans scored just four points in the opening quarter and junior big man Jake Grogg picked up two fouls as the Titans fell behind 7-4.
Once the Titans settled into their offense and got a handle on the Rams’ defensive pressure, they outscored Centennial 16-8 to take a 20-15 lead into halftime.
“I told them it’s time to settle down and execute offensively,” said Loyed.
Junior point guard Henry Linehan did just that, bringing the ball up court and penetrating the lane for short jumpers and quick dish passes to both Grogg and sophomore Anton Peck.
The Titans opened the second half with their classic rally play on their first trip up the court as junior Sky Egelhoff found senior Emmett McFarland for a back door alley-oop.
The Titans then proceeded to rattle off a 17-3 run to take a 37-18 lead midway through the third quarter. The Rams responded by firing from three-point range but the Titans responded on each possession closing with a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“That third quarter was I think the best quarter a Titans team has played,” said Loyed.
Centennial continued to fire from behind the arc, chipping away at the Titans’ lead, and Grogg fouled out with six minutes left in regulation, potentially comprising the Titans’ lead further. But freshman Ryan Costello filled in for Grogg and responded to his role in his first minute in the game, stealing a pass to the wing and taking the ball the length of the court for the lay up.
“That was a huge lift,” said Loyed.
As soon as Centennial cut the Titans’ lead back down to nine, Crested Butte switched gears on offense, working their patented possession offense—a.k.a. The Stall.
Once the Rams jumped out on them, sophomore Anton Peck took the game into his own hands, driving the lane for back-to-back lay ups and closing with a block to ice the 53-44 win.
“He grew up in that fourth quarter,” said Loyed of Peck. “He’s playing outstanding basketball.”
Linehan led the Titans with 16 points and five assists, Peck finished with 12 points and McFarland had a breakout performance with nine points, six assists and four rebounds.
“I was pleased with the win because we handled the pressure,” said Loyed. “Not only did we win but we shot 50 percent under pressure and had only eight turnovers.”
The Titans then headed to Creede on Saturday to face their first major challenge of the season. Creede is big and experienced and came into the game the number seven-seeded team in the state.
“They have four seniors that are 6’5”, 6’4”, 6’3” and 6’2” and my biggest guy is 6’2”, and he’s a sophomore,” explained Loyed.
Despite the size and experience disadvantage, the Titans held on to Creede through the first half. Despite Creede’s crushing zone defense, the Titans found seams on offense led by Peck, who had 10 points against the Creede big men in the first half.
Meanwhile, Linehan and freshman Luis Aguirre teamed up to hold Creede’s premier offensive threat in check limiting him to one point.
“Our guys played incredibly well in the first half,” said Loyed. “Everybody was contributing.”
The Titans came out in the second half down 27-24 but Creede’s adjustment on defense stifled the Titans’ scorers holding Crested Butte to two points in the third quarter and six points in the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, the shots the Titans were getting, just were not dropping through.
“We just couldn’t shoot to save our lives in the second half,” said Loyed. “And we couldn’t press because we couldn’t score.”
Creede pulled away to hand the Titans a 46-32 loss, but Loyed and the team see a light at the end of the Creede tunnel.
“I think they understand now that they can beat Creede because of that first half,” explained Loyed. “They’re a legitimate top 10 team, maybe even top five, and for us to hang with them is a really good sign because we’re incredibly young.”
The Titans head into a jam-packed weekend now with three games in a row. They host Sierra Grande on Thursday, December 17 and then Primero on Friday, December 18. Primero is ranked fifth in the state right now and coming into Crested Butte undefeated.
“They’re going to be a handful,” admitted Loyed.
The Titans then hit the road on Saturday, December 19 to take on Mountain Valley.
The home games both tip off at 6:30 p.m.
