The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Record improves to 12-3
It wasn’t pretty but they got it done and it was a good start to what coach Robin Loyed describes as a tough three-game stretch at home.
The Titan boys’ basketball team held off a late surge by the La Veta Indians to win 41-39 in mighty Mt. Olympus Saturday evening. Junior Anton Peck led the team in scoring with 18 points but his biggest two points of the night came with only four seconds left in the game.
Loyed’s keys to success in basketball are based upon three fundamentals; have great defense, limit turnovers and make free throws.
On Saturday, while two of the tenets, defense and turnovers, were intact, free throws and shooting as a whole were off for Crested Butte.
Take Peck’s stats out of the picture, and the team shot a combined seven for 37 that evening.
“We’re much better than that,” says Loyed. “We haven’t shot well for the last three or four games.”
The game opened with sloppy play from both sides as they closed the first quarter locked in a 6-6 tie.
Crested Butte looked to build solid leads in the second quarter but La Veta stopped them in their tracks with a couple of big three-pointers on both occasions.
Steals by senior Henry Linehan and baskets by Peck led the Titans to a 14-9 lead but La Veta drained a three to reel the Titans back in.
Two minutes later senior Jake Grogg dropped in two buckets and Linehan completed a three-point play to rebuild a seven-point Titan lead but La Veta struck once again from behind the arc.
The bucket sparked an eight-point run by the Indians as they closed the first half with a 24-23 lead over Crested Butte.
With the game tied 29-29 in the third quarter, junior Luis Aguirre sank a big three-pointer to help spark a rally by the Titans. Linehan capped the surge, hitting two of three from the free throw line and Crested Butte was back on top 36-32 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Titans held onto a five-point lead through most of the fourth quarter until another La Veta three-pointer closed the gap down to two. A missed Titans free throw gave the ball back to the Indians and they hit a short jumper to tie the game 39-39 with 34 seconds left to play.
La Veta got the ball back and called a timeout to set up a potential game-winning shot. Crested Butte’s defense thwarted the effort and Linehan grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.
Linehan stepped to the free-throw line with seven seconds left in the game and the score tied 39-39. Linehan missed the front end of the one-and-one but Peck grabbed the rebound and spun to drop in one of his classic left-handed lollipop shots.
La Veta charged up court but was fouled. The refs called it a flagrant, giving La Veta two shots and possession but both shots missed and the last second heave missed the mark as Crested Butte sealed the win.
“Anton played a complete game and it was fitting that he hit the game-winner,” says coach Robin Loyed. “I was just really proud of the guys for getting it done. It was a good confidence builder for us.”
And confidence is key for the Titans as they host two huge league games this weekend in Mt. Olympus. They will open the weekend home stand on Friday night against Custer County. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
The Titans will then host Sargents on Saturday in Mt. Olympus at 5:30 p.m.
Sargents, Custer County and Crested Butte are all ranked in the top 15 in the state and the league title is on the line in the last two weeks of the season.
“The league is still wide open,” says Loyed. “This weekend is going to be huge. We need a big crowd to come out and get loud—these are crucial league games.”
