CB Titans boys hoops win two of three over the week

“Our defense was really, really good”

By Than Acuff

The Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team had quite the week last week. After rolling to a win over Cotopaxi relying on defense, they added in some offense and grit to take down Soroco only to finish off the three-game stretch with a tough loss to Vail Christian.

The Cotopaxi Pirates brought a six-foot, seven-inch sophomore to the floor with the Titans tallest player measuring six-foot, one inch so the task was at hand to find a way to shut the tall Pirate down.

“We wanted to pressure the ball up high to prevent entry passes to their big guy,” says coach Mike Bacani.

The plan appeared to be working as Crested Butte held the Pirates to three points in the first quarter while Beck Kurak and Isaac Jennings sliced through for lay ups and Tyus Fischer knocked down a three-pointer for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

Once warmed up, the Titans then started to pour it on while still remaining disciplined on defense. Jennings and Blake Bacani opened the second quarter with three-pointers, both Bacani and Mason Colucci had steals for breakaway lay ups and then Colucci dopped in a three-pointer to help the Titans to a 21-9 lead by halftime.

“Defensively we were really, really good,” says Bacani. “Giving up just nine points in the first half is indicative of that.”

Crested Butte’s defense would continue to handcuff the Cotopaxi offense causing a flurry of turnovers. About the only downside, the Titans struggled to generate massive points off all the turnovers. Nevertheless, they cruised through the fourth quarter to a 35-18 win.

“I was happy about the win but if an opponent turns the ball over 38 times, we gotta score more than 35 points,” says Bacani.

Fortunately, the Titans did just that in their next game when they faced Soroco on Friday. Tight defense, points off turnovers and a hot hand from the perimeter carried the Titans to a 15-8 lead in the first quarter as Fischer hit two from behind the arc, Owen Pugh sank one from deep as well and both Bennett Crabtree and Jennings found seams to drive to the basket for lay ups.

Crested Butte then stepped it up even more in the second quarter generating even more points off turnovers. Jennings rattled off six points in a row to keep things going, Fischer had a steal for a lay-up and found some room inside to score, and the Titans were out front 27-16 at halftime.

And while an 11-point lead is healthy, in Bacani’s eyes it’s still not enough and he was right as Soroco started to pull back into the game.

“A 13-point lead is the magical number,” says Bacani. “An 11-point or nine-point lead keeps the opponent in the game with hope.”

The Titans did score to open the second half, but Soroco started chipping away at the Titans’ lead as the turnover bug bit Crested Butte. What started as an 11-point lead was then cut to a three-point lead with a minute left in the third quarter. And that’s when Bacani put the call out to his team.

“We asked the team to play tighter on defense and to utilize our speed,” says Bacani.

The team responded as Pugh knocked down a jumper and a free throw and Jennings scored off a steal to build a seven-point lead by the end of the third. And when Pugh scored again and Crabtree drove to the hoop for two and then drained a three-pointer Crested Butte was out front 46-36 and continued to hold their lead for the 52-42 win. Fischer led the team with 17 points, Pugh and Jennings each scored 12 and Crabtree added in 11 points in the game.

“I wasn’t really enamored with our offense but proud of the kids for pulling it out,” says Bacani.   

The Titans winning streak came to an end on Saturday when they lined up against Vail Christian. It was a dubious start for the Titans as they committed four turnovers in the first four minutes of the game and were down 13-3 early. The Titans did make a run at Vail Christian with an 8-0 run to close the first half and came out in the second half more proficient on offense but missed shots would eventually spell their demise.

“We got the looks we wanted, the shots just didn’t go in,” says Bacani. “It would have been a two-point game if we made those shots.”

Vail Christian held the Titans at arm’s length to maintain their double-digit lead and eventually close the game with a 54-35 win. Pugh led the team with eight points while Crabtree and Fischer scored seven points each.

“Our defense was really, really good,” says Bacani. “We were just tentative on offense. Shots were afterthoughts.”

Crested Butte has one more game before the holiday break as they face the Ouray Trojans complete with a player that is on the cusp of scoring 1,000 points in his high school career.

“They got possibly the best player in 1A,” says Bacani. “He’s going to get his points, so we just need to limit everyone else.”