The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
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The Crested Butte Titan boys closed out a rough 10 days of basketball with a thumping 52-24 win over Cripple Creek on Saturday, January 17.
The 10-day stretch included three games in a row against the top three teams in the league. Things were looking good for Crested Butte as they fell just one point shy of a late-game comeback win against the Center Vikings a week ago.
Unfortunately, the stoke of that effort was soon wiped from their collective psyches the following day as they ran into a buzz-saw, losing to Sanford, arguably the best 2A team in the state, 79-29.
After licking their wounds, the Titans hosted the Sargent Farmers on Wednesday, January 14, the second-best team in their incredibly stacked league.
Prior to the game, coach Brandin Hamilton felt if his team could handle the pressure between the three-point arcs, they might have a chance.
The Titans got off to their best start all season when Quinn Winter grabbed an offensive board and scored, David Wasinger drove the lane and kicked it out to Jakob Monroe for a 12-foot jumper and Joe Hayes hit two free throws for a 6-2 lead.
Then Sargent got hot. Following a platoon substitution where the Sargent coach pulled all five players off the bench to go in, Sargent fired off a 16-4 run including a couple of three-pointers to build an 18-10 lead at the close of the first quarter.
Paced by three pointers, the Farmers held their lead through the second quarter. While the Titans managed to execute on offense with Winter scoring inside and some contributions from the perimeter, the Farmers would bury another three to quash the Titans’ spirit. Sargent ended up hitting six three-pointers in the first half for a 37-22 lead at halftime.
“Basically, I think his strategy is to play up-tempo and wear teams out,” says Hamilton. “I think the fresh legs were a factor. That and we need to improve on closing down on shooters. We were giving up really comfortable threes.”
The Farmers continued to push the pace in the second half but the Titans remained within striking distance as Winter continued to have a strong game inside and Hayes kept hitting his free throws.
The Titans got a boost at the end of the third quarter, closing with a play to set up Winter in the paint for a last shot. When Quinn Farnell fed the ball into Winter, he found a little room and took a step for his first dunk of the season.
The Titans carried that momentum into the start of the fourth quarter as Winter and John Theis each scored and the Titans defense tightened up, but then Sargent unleashed one last time.
After pulling to within 12 points with five minutes left, the Titans gave up a 10-0 run to Sargent, putting the game out of reach as the Titans eventually lost 66-46.
“Our perimeter defense was not that great, we gave them too many second chances and we had some decent moments but too many unproductive possessions,” explains Hamilton. “It was a lot of little things but they added up.”
Winter ended up leading all players that evening, scoring 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while Hayes added in eight points including shooting six for six from the free throw line.
“It was a tough one for the guys to take. They came into the game with a lot of confidence,” says Hamilton.
The Titans rebounded three days later as they headed to Cripple Creek on Saturday, January 17 and cruised to a 52-24 win.
Hamilton spent a majority of the workouts leading up to the game focusing on defense and boxing out, and the effort paid off as the Titans dominated all facets of the game.
“Offensively things went well and defensively we made some strides and we locked them down,” says Hamilton. “As a team we were playing better defense.”
Winter had a career game in Cripple Creek, recording a triple-double with 26 points, 22 rebounds and 10 blocks. Wasinger added in 10 points.
The team now prepares for the Del Norte Tigers this Friday in Mt. Olympus at 6 p.m. Del Norte is another Southern Peaks powerhouse but Hamilton sees hope for his team.
“If we can put a whole game together at both ends of the court there’s no reason why we can’t win the game,” says Hamilton.
