Titans boys basketball wins two of three

“We’ll look back at this game as a really good learning moment”

By Than Acuff

The Crested Butte Titans boys basketball team had a full week last week with three games over the course of five days, and came out of the push with two easy wins and a tough loss.

“It’s always a weird week,” says coach Hannes Gehring. “It feels like you have very little time to prepare for each team.”

The Titans opened the three-game push against the North Fork Miners and while the team couldn’t find the basket from distance, Adin Kurak was nearly automatic from three-point range knocking down five of six from behind the arc in the first half alone.

While others struggled on offense, the team rallied in other elements of the game that set the foundation for success over the course of all four quarters.

“We were playing tenacious defense and rebounding really well, we owned that part,” says Gehring.

Crested Butte built a 36-14 lead by halftime and continued to push in the third quarter building a 51-24 lead and then cruising to a 64-33 win. Kurak led the team with 27 points while Weston Miller and Porter Donohue each scored 12 points.

The Titans then headed to Grand Junction on Friday, December 8 to face the Caprock Academy Eagles and rolled to a 68-20 win riding the wave of Miller time. Miller put together a triple-double scoring 12 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and doling out 10 assists. In addition, Miller recorded five steals.

“It’s a pretty unbelievable stat line,” says Gehring. “Weston’s drive and desire is as high as any player I’ve ever coached.”

Meanwhile, Miller had plenty of help at both ends of the court as Kurak dropped in another 27 points, Donohue recorded six steals and Riley Davis scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and had four steals in the game while setting the tone on defense with his work.

“Riley really led the way with his defensive intensity,” says Gehring.

The honeymoon start to the year soon wore off for the Titans though as they got their biggest test of the season when they faced the Plateau Valley Cowboys on Saturday, December 9.

Plateau Valley was a top 10 team last year with mostly sophomores starting so they returned this year even stronger, and it showed on Saturday.

“We got beat by a very good team,” says Gehring.

Plateau Valley jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the first quarter and continued on that path through the second quarter to take a 36-18 lead into halftime.

“I felt like we were just out of it from the start,” says Gehring. “I really thought it was going to be more of a back-and-forth game.”

The Cowboys continued to pour it on through the second half eventually running away with a 64-43 win. Davis finished with 14 points, Miller scored 10 and Eli Hulm added in seven points.

Gehring admits the game proved some things he needs to work on more with the team, but also points out it was an eye-opener for the team regarding tough games.

“We learned a lot about how we want to and how we don’t want to respond to adversity, when you play against a good team you have to stay poised,” says Gehring. “We’ll look back at this game as a really good learning moment. I have all the faith in the world we will improve upon that.”

The Titans continue with their slate of non-league powerhouse match ups this week as they head to Eastern Colorado to face Simla on Friday, December 15.

“They’re currently number one in 2A in the state,” says Gehring. “All of those teams out there are really good. It’s like Kansas basketball leaks over the border into Eastern Colorado.”