Titan boys open hoops season with win

“That’s in our personality for sure and it tends to pay off”

[ by Than Acuff ]

It wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Crested Butte Titans but they got the job done taking down the Ridgway Demons 59-45 in the season opener in Mt. Olympus Tuesday, January 26.
Crested Butte jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minute of the game but cold shooting took hold and the Demons drained a couple three-pointers and outpaced the Titans the next three minutes to climb within two points. But the work of John Penny helped spark some fire in Crested Butte with a block and finished off a three-point play to spark an 8-0 run at the end of the quarter for an 18-8 Titans’ lead.

Crested Butte kept the pace going to open the second quarter but then Ridgway got hot from three-point land and the Titans mixed up their line up which created some chaos on the court.
“We were just trying to feel out different rotations and they were jittery and wanting it so bad we were taking shots too early,” says coach Brandin Hamilton.

By the time the halftime horn sounded Ridgway had cut the Titans’ lead down to five points and Crested Butte players headed into the break heads hanging low.

“They were down and felt like we had missed an opportunity to put the game away,” says Hamilton. “I just reminded them about the fundamentals on offense and defense and how to be successful.”

Their fundamentals on defense led to success on offense as the Titans opened the third quarter 13-3 run paced by 11 points from Erik Wasinger. Ridgway called a timeout to regroup but Wasinger hit a three-pointer following the break and Alan Prieto hit three of four free throws to help maintain a 13-point lead for Crested Butte.

“We had a lot of steals for lay ups,” says Hamilton. “That’s in our personality for sure and it tends to pay off.”

But foul trouble started to plague the Titans and throw their rhythm off again as Hamilton was forced to turn to his bench to help pick up the slack.

“We had to go deeper into our rotation sooner than planned but our defense helped us hold the lead,” says Hamilton.

In addition, Wasinger, Prieto and Penny continued to score on offense to help seal the deal on the 59-45 win.

“The second half was a good team half,” says Hamilton.

Wasinger led the team with 26 points, Prieto finished with 20 points and Penny added in nine points. The team as a whole hit 13 of 16 free throws as well.

“The kids have been putting in a lot of time on free throws and I’m glad it paid off,” says Hamilton. “It was a good opponent to get a win off of. Ridgway’s a solid program.”

The Titans return to the floor on Tuesday, February 2 when they square off against Gunnison in Gunnison.

“That’ll be fun, they’re excited to play each other,” says Hamilton.