Early season injuries plague Titan boys’ hoops

“Basically, we need to
get healthy”

Early season scrimmages and tournaments typically offer coaches a chance to find out what kind of team they have prior to the start of the regular season.
Unfortunately for the Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team, the plan has backfired, as coach Brandin Hamilton continues to lose players to injuries.
The Titans headed to Leadville last weekend for the Lake County Tournament, an annual test for the Titans team.
“I think it’s a good beginning-of-the-year tournament,” says Hamilton. “The competition is reasonable. I felt pretty good with what we put in. I just wasn’t sure how we would execute and what our personality is on the floor.”
The Titans opened the weekend on Friday, December 2 with a 49-33 win over host team Lake County, giving Hamilton a brief, positive glimpse of his team.
“Defensively we were stout; offensively we were aggressive and opportunistic,” says Hamilton.
The Titans built a 40-16 lead before Hamilton put the brakes on and got some bench players time in a varsity game.
Senior Anton Peck led the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds; junior Jesse Reeves added 14 more points and teamed up with senior Luis Aguirre to wreak havoc on defense.
The Titans picked up where they left off the next morning against Battle Mountain, dictating the game at both ends of the floor and taking an early five-point lead.
“We looked great out of the gates going up 7-2, then Anton fell on his wrist,” says Hamilton. “That kind of knocked the wind out of us.”
Peck continued to try to play but the damage was done and eventually he had to sit. The Titans fell behind 10 points and held it there for most of the game but couldn’t close the gap, eventually losing 44-28.
Reeves stepped up to lead the team with 19 points but his nagging back injury continued to flare up, as did Aguirre’s knee.
The Titans closed the weekend against Gilpin County. With Peck out and Reeves and Aguirre hurting, the pace set by Gilpin eventually took its toll on the Titans.
While the Titans managed to break the Gilpin press for numerous easy buckets, the Titans’ legs and lack of experience left them struggling from the second quarter on.
“They went on a run in the second quarter and we never recovered,” says Hamilton.
Junior Ryan Costello stepped into a big role underneath the basket, pulling down numerous rebounds and leading the team with 18 points.
But there was nothing the Titans could do to shut down Gilpin’s reign of terror from three-point land.
“I think they hit 10 three’s, including a kid who shot five-for-five,” says Hamilton.
Though three starters are hampered by injury and Peck potentially out for a couple weeks, Hamilton sees some positives.
“Some guys are going to get minutes that they wouldn’t normally get and that experience is going to help us out down the road,” says Hamilton.
The Titans head to Meeker for another tournament December 8-10 and with six players nursing injuries, Hamilton will be calling on more players to step into varsity roles.
“We have to bear down this weekend,” says Hamilton. “It’s going to be character-building.”
The Titans host their first home game of the season in mighty Mt. Olympus on Monday, December 12 against Creede/Lake City; tip-off is at 5 p.m.
Following that game, the team has a long break before they start league play on January 6.
“Basically, we need to get healthy,” says Hamilton. “We’re in need of some better luck. Fortunately, we have some time to heal before we go into league.”