Titan boys suffer heartbreaking postseason loss in OT

“We’re on life support, but we’re still alive”

The last four days of Titans boys’ basketball has been an intense rollercoaster ride and we haven’t even hit the corkscrew yet.
It began Friday night at the start of the Titans’ final regular season home game against Antonito.
Coach Robin Loyed opened the game against Antonito that evening starting all seniors including Ryan Oros. Oros has been with the team all four years of high school, yet his varsity time has been limited.
Friday night, he made the most of it. On the Titans’ second trip up the floor, Oros flashed open off a screen to the wing, took a pass and immediately turned to drain a three-pointer.
The next thrill of the closing weekend came at halftime of that game. David Owen, who has attended the most Titans basketball games of anyone in town (aside from me), was picked from the crowd for the halftime shooting contest.
All he had to do was sink a lay up, a free throw and a three-pointer in 24 seconds and he would take home $450 in cold, hard, cash.
It took Owen two tries each to make his lay up and free throw and time was dwindling with the three-point shot left to hit. Owen took the ball and without hesitation threw it up, hitting nothing but net at the buzzer for the big cash prize.
The Titans went on to win the game handily 61-29. Senior point guard Henry Linehan led the team with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals. Junior Anton Peck scored 15 and grabbed nine rebounds and senior Jake Grogg, the Chairman of the Board, finished with eight points and 12 boards.
The Titans then finished the regular season with a 39-18 win over South Park on Saturday, February 19 to finish the season in third place. Peck closed the regular season with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Linehan added in 13 points and Grogg continued his “Chairman” ways with nine points and 11 boards.
Tuesday, February 22 the Titans hosted Sangre de Cristo in Mt. Olympus for the opening round of the district tournament.
Confidence was high for the Titans with sophomore guard Jesse Reeves returning to the starting line-up from a broken thumb.
“It’s the first time we were full-strength in 15 games,” said coach Robin Loyed prior to the game.
 A win would send them to the final four of the district tournament and earn them an automatic bid to the state tournament. A loss would send them into the consolation round of districts, forcing them to win two more games to reach the big show
The Titans beat Sangre earlier in the season in a defensive battle but Sangre brings a 6’8” post player who can force players to completely alter their game.
Tuesday night, his presence in the paint appeared to have an impact on Peck, as Peck struggled shooting all night.
In fact, the entire Titans team was ice cold from the perimeter. Crested Butte hit just six baskets all game long, including shooting two for 20 in the second half, inside the arc.
Senior Max Molitor led the Titans through the first quarter battling in the paint on offense and shutting down Sangre’s inside game on defense.
Eventually though, the Titans’ cold shooting took its toll as Crested Butte fell behind 21-10 by halftime.
Linehan and junior Logan Bland opened the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers but Sangre came right back with two three-pointers of their own, eventually taking a 32-18 lead by the end of the third quarter.
The lone bright spot came from Grogg, whose effort on defense helped keep the game from completely getting out of reach as they headed into the fourth quarter.
“He was clearly giving everything he had out there,” says Loyed.
Three minutes into the fourth, the game went from bad to worse for the Titans, down 20 points with Grogg fouled out.
Then, with apparently nothing to lose, the Titans let loose bombing from three-point range and forcing Sangre to commit a flurry of turnovers.
Linehan hit a three to cut the Sangre’s lead to 17. Sophomore Clifford Gibbens followed with another three and then Linehan struck again as the Titans cut Sangre’s lead down to 12 points.
Both Gibbens and Linehan sank two free throws each. Gibbens added another three-pointer off the glass and senior Sky Egelhoff came into the game to toss one last three-point shot in to pull the Titans within two points with less than 20 seconds left in the game.
A Sangre shooter stepped to the free throw line with 10 seconds left looking to ice the win. He missed the front end of the one-and-one; Crested Butte grabbed the rebound and sprinted up court for one last shot. Linehan got the ball 14 feet from the hoop and pulled up to bury the jumper to force the game into overtime, capping the 20-point fourth quarter Titans’ comeback.
“We got to the point where we had to shoot threes,” says Loyed. “I was really proud of their effort in that fourth quarter.”
Foul trouble depleted the Titans team in the overtime as Linehan and Bland both fouled out. Gibbens continued his tirade on the court hitting two more free throws and stealing an inbounds pass to score two more points. But, a couple of costly turnovers felled the Titans in the end as Sangre saved the game hitting their last two free throws for the 53-52 win.
“It’s hard to win when three guys foul out,” says Loyed. “I thought we had tons of shots, good shots—I just don’t understand why we can’t finish. I can’t fault the effort. Everyone worked hard.”
The Titans will now face Del Norte on Friday, February 25 in the consolation round of the district tournament at Adams State College at 1:30 p.m. A win Friday will advance the Titans to the consolation finals Saturday at 9:30 a.m. A win then will get them into the state tournament through the back door.
“It’s going to take getting everyone on the same page,” says Loyed. “If we ever do that, watch out. We’re on life support, but we’re still alive.”