The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I was impressed with how the guys just kept battling the whole game”
by Than Acuff
The Crested Butte Titans boys basketball teams had a rough road trip into the San Luis Valley this past weekend, falling to both the Center Vikings and the Sanford Indians.
Heading into the weekend, confidence was high among the Titans, with two weeks of workouts under their belts and everyone healthy and focused.
“We were able to put all of our systems in and the guys were feeling confident,” says coach Brandin Hamilton.
And while Hamilton knew Center would be tough, there was no way to know they would be as potent as they were on offense and as stifling as they would be on defense when the two teams tipped off Friday, January 8.
“Their 1-3-1 zone was really aggressive and that caught us off guard and they were hot, molten hot,” says Hamilton. “They just jumped all over us.”
Center, as a team, shot 80-percent from inside the arc and close to 60-percent from beyond the arc. Crested Butte did manage to work through the struggles with the 1-3-1 zone and find some shots. But, Center would just come right back up the court and if the three was shut off, they would look inside the arc and when that got shut down, they managed to kick the ball elsewhere and score anyway.
“As the game wore on we started seeing looks and learning how to deal with the 1-3-1,” says Hamilton. “We were scoring points, we just could not stop them.”
Center put the game out of reach for good in the third quarter and then cruised to a 79-46 win over the Titans.
Senior John Theis led the Titans with 15 points and is becoming a force to be reckoned with on the court.
“He’s turning it on,” says Hamilton. “It’s becoming more and more difficult for teams to deal with him.”
The Titans then got thrown into the fire the following day in Sanford. Sanford is the two-time defending 2A state champions and have been destroying everyone that stands in their way as they look to return to the state finals.
“Sanford is primed to win another state title,” says Hamilton. “They play really good defense, don’t make mistakes on offense and are just crushing teams.”
To make matters even tougher for the Titans, they were missing Theis and when they showed up for the game, they were forced to wait in the stands, as game times were rescheduled at the last minute. Once they did finally tip off for the game, the delay had rendered the Titans nearly useless.
“The guys came out lethargic and cold,” says Hamilton. “We were missing lay ups, missing shots in close, nobody could get it going.”
Nevertheless, the Titans battled as hard as they could all four quarters and while Sanford was in the process of running away with a 71-17 win, Crested Butte battled until the bitter end.
“I was impressed with how the guys just kept battling the whole game,” says Hamilton.
With their systems in place and coming off a couple brutal losses, the Titans are now looking ahead to their first home games of the season this weekend.
“Those games were really humbling so the guys are just focused right now on competing,” says Hamilton. “We’re working on getting the team concepts tighter and just working through reps.”
The Titans face Telluride on Friday, January 15 at 7 p.m. in mighty Mt. Olympus and then host Cripple Creek on Saturday, January 16 at 4 p.m. Hamilton and the team is looking to change direction with the games this weekend in front of the hometown crowd.
“The guys are psyched to finally play at home,” says Hamilton.
