The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I don’t think the score exemplifies how hard our kids played all game”
By Than Acuff
The Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team took it on the chin once again but there’s no question they took a big step forward from their opening game of the season to their second contest.
They started the year off facing Salida complete with a seven-foot player that is rumored to be looking at playing Division I basketball. Three days later the Titans returned to their home court to host the Sanford Mustangs on Friday, December 6, one of the top 2A programs in the state every year and the difference between the two games was immediately apparent in the first quarter of the Sanford game, actually the first minute.
Bridger Flores got things going for the Titans with an offensive rebound and basket and Adin Kurak knocked down an eight-foot jumper. The Mustangs responded with a three-pointer but a near-perfect inbounds play by the Titans opened Kurak for another jumper and when Luke Jennings drove to the basket through traffic for a layup and Flores hit two free throws, the Titans were up 10-5 midway through the first quarter.
The downside was that with the high-paced game and stifling man-to-man defense of the Mustangs came early fouls for point guard Kurak forcing coach Mike Bacani to look to his bench early in the game.
Despite the setback, the Titans continued to battle with their own tough defense and Flores hit four more free throws to keep the Titans out front 14-9 by the end of the first quarter. Foul trouble continued to plague the Titans in the second quarter with four starters sitting on the bench for a lengthy stretch, but the Titans bench continued to limit Sanford’s potency. The Mustangs did find some success, much of it from the free throw line building a 24-18 lead over the Titans by halftime.
“That first half was the proudest I’ve been of the team all year so far, they played with an energy and urgency,” says Bacani. “That first half was what I think we can be all year.”
Sanford opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, but the Titans answered right back as Kurak nailed a three-pointer. Crested Butte continued to respond but when fouls started piling up, starters for both teams had to sit and that’s when the Mustangs slowly but surely started to pull away as they built a seven-point lead into a 14-point lead by the end of the third quarter.
“Both sides had foul trouble and that’s when the separation happened,” says Bacani. “We just have young players on our bench and their bench is just more experienced.”
That trend continued in the fourth quarter and while both Tyus Fischer and Eli Hulm hit three-pointers down the stretch, Sanford kept pushing to close the game with a 59-36 win. Kurak led the Titans with 14 points while Flores scored 12.
“I don’t think the score exemplifies how hard our kids played all game,” says Bacani. “I think we took a very big step.”
The Titans head to Grand Junction this weekend for games against Soroco and Vail Christian. Soroco will be an opportunity for the Titans to get their first win of the season, Vail Christian will be another stout test.
“We beat Soroco last year so it will be good to see how we measure up to last year,” says Bacani. “Vail Christion will be one of the top three teams we will face all year.”
