Boys’ hoops pass Trojan test

“Once again our bench came through”

By Than Acuff 

While the Ouray Trojans are a 1A team, they are a very good 1A team that includes a 6’6” player who has been putting up impressive numbers against opponents. And while he did so again against the Crested Butte Titans, the speed and depth of the Titans made the difference as they pulled away to a 66-41 road win over Ouray on Wednesday, December 18. 

It took a quarter of play before the Titans took control of the game as the two teams went back-and-forth through the first quarter.

Baskets from Adin Kurak, Bridger Flores and a three pointer from Ronan Conroy had the Titans up 7-4 midway through the first quarter. Kurak then stole the ball and went the length of the court for two more, but the Trojans responded with a bucket and then closed the first quarter with a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull within two of the Titans.

Luke Jennings opened the scoring at the start of the second quarter with a tight little one-handed four-footer and a six-foot jumper from Kurak had the Titans building momentum. Ouray answered back but when Kurak drained a three-pointer and Tyus Fischer battled for an offensive board to set up Kurak for two more points, the Titans started gaining speed. So much so that even with a little foul trouble in the second quarter, Bacani turned to his bench, and they kept things going without a hitch to go on a 17-5 run for a 32-18 lead at halftime.

“Once again our bench came through,” says coach Mike Bacani. “You could see a little bit of fatigue in Ouray, and we executed well on offense. We limited them to one shot on offense as Luke got nearly every rebound.”

Ouray caught their breath during the halftime break and a quick burst by Ouray to start the second half had them on a roll but Jennings effort on the offensive boards to score and a three-pointer from Eli Hulm soon quashed the comeback by the Trojans and Crested Butte continued to run at Ouray taking a 44-28 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Titans showed no signs of slowing down and went on to outscore Ouray 22-13 in the final quarter for the 66-41 win. Kurak led the Titans with 25 points, Hulm scored 13, Flores 12 and Jennings finished with seven points and a dominating performance on the boards. 

“They were gassed,” says Bacani. “I think our pace on offense was just a little bit quicker than their defense and we had a lot better supporting cast.”

While it’s been a frantic start to the season, Bacani admits he wishes there was no holiday break as the Titans are on a three-game winning streak with their next game not until January 11.

“I wish we had a couple more games,” says Bacani. “We’re on the rise and our practices are getting more and more competitive. I’d like to keep the momentum going.”