Titans basketball opens league play

“A loss like that at this time of the year can be a good thing”

by Than Acuff

After racking up a 6-1 record against non-league opponents the opening weeks of the season, the Crested Butte Titans boys basketball team got their first look of the season at two of their league opponents this past weekend and came away with a win, a loss and some insight.

The two-game stretch opened on Friday, January 17 as the Titans hosted the Del Norte Tigers, a team Crested Butte had not beaten in who knows when.

“I certainly don’t recall ever beating them,” says coach Brandin Hamilton, who has been with the program the longest of any Titans basketball coach.

In fact, last season the Del Norte Tigers handed Crested Butte two punishing losses, and has been doing so for several years, until now, as the Titans rallied to a 47-38 win.

Hamilton has made a point of having his team focus less on their opponent and more on getting them to do what they do best. As a result, while the Tigers have a legacy of success over Crested Butte, Hamilton and the Titans did not waver in their approach.

“We weren’t going to change anything,” says Hamilton. “I just reiterated that we still continue to treat every game the same.”

Still, there was something different in the air in mighty Mt. Olympus. For starters, rather than some sort of thumping hip-hop or jock rock music during warm ups, the Titans had the smoother soulful sounds of Bobby Caldwell playing. Furthermore, our very own Steve Lawlor was in attendance, visiting Crested Butte setting a tone for success.

Alan Pietro opened the game hitting a three-pointer and Grayson White and Erik Wasinger added in additional offense but their offense struggled to get shots to drop. Fortunately, the Titans were on point defensively keeping Del Norte completely confused and closed off from the hoop.

“We were still scoring but leaving a lot of points missing shots we usually hit, it never felt like we were really comfortable,” says Hamilton. “But on the defensive side we felt really good.”

Del Norte tied the game up early in the second quarter but a Titans timeout gave Crested Butte the opportunity to regroup and followed with a 17-5 run to close the first half led by Wasinger, who knocked down three bombs from three-point range while Owen Forsythe and Murphy Smith scored inside. The icing on the cake came in the final ticks of the second quarter when Carlos Franco picked the ball off of a Del Norte player and drove the length of the court for a lay-up at the buzzer and a 25-13 Titans lead.

Defense continued to pave the way for the Titans’ success in the third quarter. Crested Butte held Del Norte to four points the entire quarter while racking up 11 of their own, with Wasinger knocking down another three as well as tipping in a missed lay-up, with Pietro and Bacani adding in two points each to give Crested Butte a 19-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Then things got a little squirrelly, then a lot, for the Titans as Del Norte started climbing back into the game, opening the fourth quarter with a 13-5 run. White found some success inside to keep the game sane for a bit but with a little over a minute left in regulation, Del Norte had pulled to within six points and were surging.

“We let up,” says Hamilton. “There was a change in approach and we weren’t as aggressive defensively and offensively we started hesitating.”

Probably the biggest bucket of the game came at the one-minute mark as Ethan Bacani dropped in a reverse lay-up to regain an eight-point cushion on the Tigers.

“Hitting that shot on that possession was big,” says Hamilton. “If we miss that and they come back and score, we start to pucker.”

Del Norte did drop in one more three-pointer to respond but were then forced to foul to stop the clock and Wasinger and Franco hit their free throws to seal the 47-38 win.

Wasinger finished the game leading the Titans with 20 points, White scored 10 and Pietro pulled down nine boards and had three assists.

“There wasn’t any panic,” says Hamilton. “We were dealing with how to win a close game and we just got back to our game identity.”

Crested Butte carried their momentum from the win into their game on Saturday on the road against the Sanford Indians. Unfortunately, the momentum only lasted midway through the second quarter.

Crested Butte went toe-to-toe with Sanford and built a 14-10 advantage three minutes into the second quarter when Sanford called a timeout.

“We were playing well and looking like ourselves,” says Hamilton.

Sanford then went on an 8-0 run to follow and never really looked back as the wear and tear of Sanford’s intensity took the Titans out of their game as they fell 50-21.

“Sanford forced us to play at a level where you just can’t take any breaks,” says Hamilton. “They play a physical, intense game.”

The Titans’ record remains impressive though at 7-2 and Hamilton believes the loss could play an important role in the team’s development.

“A loss like that at this time of the year can be a good thing,” says Hamilton. “It’s a reminder of the level we can and need to play at.”

Crested Butte will return to the road on Friday, January 24 to face South Park and then are scheduled to host league-leading Center on Saturday, January 25, but may be rescheduled depending on the availability of officials.