Crested Butte boys take tournament title

 “The boys just played to their potential this weekend”

 The Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team put together the best defensive effort their head coach Robin Loyed has ever seen from his team, resulting in the Titans taking the High Country Tournament title last weekend.
Loyed firmly believes that solid defense and free throw shooting can win any game and his team proved it.
Over the course of the three-game tournament, the Titans held opponents to an average of 9.6 points in the first half alone.
“Our defense was incredible, it just stymied teams,” says Loyed. “It was the best team defense I’ve ever seen the Titans play.”
They opened with a double overtime battle against 3A school Platte Canyon on Friday, December 17.
The Titans held Platte Canyon to 11 points in the first half to take a 17-11 lead into the locker room and all the confidence in the world.
“We were thinking, we can take these guys,” says Loyed.
Things started to unravel for the Titans in the third quarter, though, as a shooting drought from the perimeter turned nightmarish.
Meanwhile, Platte Canyon’s leading scorer turned red hot from outside, and they outscored Crested Butte 21-5 in the third quarter to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.
“We just hit a cold spot and it kind of snowballed on us,” says Loyed.
Rather than fold, the Titans dug deep and Loyed saw a side of his team that he believes may set the tone for the season.
“It was a turning point, possibly for the season,” says Loyed.
Loyed turned to his defense to turn the game around, pulling out a half-court trap that shut Platte Canyon down.
Led by seniors Henry Linehan and Jake Grogg and junior Anton Peck, the Titans chipped away at Platte Canyon’s lead over the course of the final eight minutes pulling to within six points with two minutes left in the game.
Trailing by two points with 15 seconds left, the Titans stopped Platte Canyon’s offense and a quick breakout pass found Linehan charging up court. Linehan weaved through the scrambling Platte Canyon defense to find a seam to the basket and dropped in the game-tying lay up to force the game into overtime.
Loyed turned to his bag of tricks calling on sophomore Jesse Reeves, bad back and all, for the overtime opening tip off.
“He’s got good ups and long arms,” explains Loyed.
Reeves won the tip but the two teams were far too tentative in the first overtime, trading off two baskets each to end up tied 50-50 and forcing a second overtime.
Loyed looked to Reeves again and Reeves delivered again winning the tip and then some.
The Titans built a slim lead in the opening minutes and Platte Canyon was forced to foul to stop the clock.
The ploy backfired as Reeves hit five of six free throws down the stretch to ice the 63-54 Titans win.
Peck finished the game with his first double-double scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, including shooting seven of eight from the free throw line. Grogg scored 12 points and pulled down nine boards and Linehan closed with 14 points and turned the ball over just two times.
“Henry just played a masterful game,” says Loyed.
Linehan put together his best performance to date the following day against a big and physical West Grand team.
The Titans defense set the tone once again holding West Grand to seven points in the first quarter and three in the second quarter to take a 26-10 lead by halftime.
“Right away our defense was playing the best I had ever seen,” says Loyed. “We demoralized them.”
West Grand outscored the Titans 17-12 in the third quarter but were forced to foul Crested Butte with five minutes left in the game.
At that point, Linehan took complete control of the game. Every time the Titans brought the ball into play Linehan was double-teamed. And every time Linehan would break free, get the inbounds pass, get fouled and sink the free throws.
Linehan finished by sinking nine of ten free throws down the stretch, 16 of 17 in the game, for a game-leading 24 points as the Titans emerged with a 53-43 win.
“Henry had a first team, all state performance in the fourth quarter,” says Loyed. “He played as well as any guard I’ve ever seen.”
Peck came close to his second double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds and junior Luis Aguirre was key to the Titans team defensive effort holding West Grand’s leading scorer to 10 points all game.
The two wins set the Titans up for a shot at the tournament title as they took the floor against Middle Park later that day.
For the third game in a row it was the defense from start to finish that led the Titans as they held Middle Park to eight points in the first half.
This time Loyed looked to Reeves to shut down the opponent’s top three-point shooter and he held him scoreless all game.
Crested Butte carried a 31-15 lead into the fourth quarter and then pulled back to cruise to a 35-22 win and the tournament title.
Linehan and Grogg were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts and the team is riding a high heading into the Christmas break.
“I’m really proud of the team,” says Loyed. “The boys just played to their potential this weekend.”
The Titans head to Sierra Grande for a game on Thursday, January 6 before returning to mighty Mt. Olympus to host Lake County on Saturday, January 8. Tip off for the day of games will be at noon, and there will be another halftime show complete with raffle prizes and another shot at winning cold-hard cash.