Boys hoops continues to struggle in league play with weekend loss

“We were pretty confident at halftime”

by Than Acuff

It was another tough weekend for the Crested Butte Titans boys basketball program as their Friday showdown with South Park was cancelled due to weather and the Titans then fell to the Center Vikings the next day.

The Titans were looking to get back on track with a home game scheduled against South Park on Friday, January 18, as it provided a little hometown support against a quality opponent.

“It would have been a pretty good game,” says coach Brandin Hamilton. “The two teams match up pretty good.”

But due to the recent storm swinging through Colorado, South Park opted out of the sketchy travel conditions and the Titans were left to regroup and board the bus Saturday, January 19 for a road game against the Center Vikings. While the Vikings’ record is less than stellar, it was obvious they would be tough as they had come close on several occasions to knocking off some of the top teams in and out of the league.

“They competed with everyone and were right there against some quality opponents,” says Hamilton. “I know what players they have and they’ve got a quality program.”

Still, the hope was that the Titans would return to their winning ways against Center, only to have a rough first quarter push the Titans back on their heels for the first eight minutes and leaving them with turnovers, just three shots all quarter, and just one point.

“We didn’t adjust to their 1-3-1 defense well and it took the whole quarter to get a feel for how to attack it,” says Hamilton.

Fortunately, while Crested Butte struggled on offense, they made up for it on the other end of the court, holding Center to just eight points the entire quarter to keep them well within reach.

“Defensively we were hanging in there, just like we’ve done all season,” says Hamilton.

A slight adjustment finally unlocked the door on Center’s zone defense as Crested Butte started finding success getting the ball to Ty Sherman inside. Sherman knocked down seven points in the second quarter with Crested Butte scoring 11 total and down just 18-12 at the half.

“We were pretty confident at halftime,” says Hamilton.

The Titans carried that confidence into the opening minutes of the third quarter, cutting Center’s lead down to three points before another lull knocked the Titans backward. A steal and missed layup by the Titans then turned into a 5-0 run by Center and Crested Butte was back on their heels and down 35-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

“It was nothing that we did terribly. They found their rhythm” says Hamilton. “We were doing okay offensively but just weren’t getting any stops on defense.”

The fourth quarter played out much like how the third quarter ended with Center firing on all cylinders. The Titans never managed to pump the brakes on the Vikings and Center eventually finished the Titans off 54-37. Sherman led the Titans with 14 points.

“We didn’t have a great night,” says Hamilton.

Crested Butte returns to the road this Friday, January 25 to face the Cotopaxi Pirates, a 1A powerhouse.

“It’s going to be a serious battle,” says Hamilton. “They’ve got two players that are an absolute handful. We need to find some consistent scoring options and work on limiting those two players.”

Then, on Saturday, January 26, the Titans will return home to host one of the top 2A teams in the state, the Sargent Farmers.

“I’m excited about the Sargent game,” says Hamilton. “I always like playing them, they play a good brand of basketball.”

Tip off for the varsity boys game on Saturday is at 4 p.m.