CB Titans boys’ basketball team falls shy of massive upset

“The boys were at their ceiling most of the game”

By Than Acuff 

Following the holiday break during which practice sessions were moderately attended, the Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team got back to business with two stout opponents last week. And while falling to both, the two-game stretch still left coach Mike Bacani and his players much to look forward to as the season continues.

They started off on the road against the North Fork Miners on Wednesday, January 7 in a game that opened as an offensive slugfest from the opening tip off as Bennett Crabtree won the tip to John Mitchell and Mitchell laid it in. Moments later Isaac Jennings stripped a Miner of the ball to feed Crabtree for two more Titan points.

The Miners responded draining back-to-back three-pointers, but Crabtree scored again, and another Jennings steal led to a short jumper from Tyus Fischer to maintain their slim lead. North Fork remained hot from the perimeter though and went on a quick surge and while Mitchell knocked down a three-pointer and Owen Pugh a step back six-foot jumper, the Miners finished the first quarter up 21-15.

“That was an offensive explosion from both teams,” says Bacani. “The offense was something we had tweaked, and it seemed to work well so I was pleased with our offense, but not with our defense.”

North Fork then started to pour it on in the second quarter turning their five-point lead into a 14-point lead midway through the second quarter. Fischer did hit a three-pointer amidst the breakdown, and a Crabtree steal led to a layup for Blake Bacani, but the Titans were down 37-26 heading into halftime.

The Titans locked down defensively to hold the Miners to four points in the opening three minutes of the second half, only problem was Crested Butte struggled to score as well. Eventually, with the Titans down two key players, the game started to get away from them. The Miners eventually got hot again, pulling away for good by the end of the third quarter and eventually finishing off the Titans 66-40. Fischer led the Titans with 11 points, Mitchell scored seven and Crabtree six.

“Our lack of depth hurt us, and North Fork just ran away from us,” says Mike.

That said, Mike also admits that he used certain parts of the game to prepare his team for the more important task at hand in three days, a game against league opponent Sanford, who was currently undefeated and ranked number one in the state in 2A.

“That was the game we were preparing for,” admits Mike.

And, as it turns out, that preparation nearly paid off. The team spent the next two days completely focused on defense to prepare for Sanford and everything appeared to be going to plan from the start, except for one thing.

Playing tough defense can have its pitfalls, most notably fouls, and three Titan starters fell into foul trouble early.

“At one point in the first quarter we had Tyus, Bennett and John Mitchell on the bench,” says Mike.

That could have been cause for the Mustangs to open the game up early, but the Titans remained laser-focused on the task at hand and were down just 13-10 by the end of the first quarter.

“I counted on the bench a lot in the first quarter,” says Mike.

But that was just one of four quarters and it seemed surely Sanford would open up the game in the second quarter, however they just couldn’t get going as Crested Butte mixed locked-in defense with patience on offense and after two jumpers from Fischer, the Titans were out front 16-15 midway through the second quarter forcing Sanford to call a timeout.

“Our mantra going into the game was ‘trim the hedges’ on offense, be patient, because if we have the ball, they can’t score,” explains Mike. “And we were very patient on offense.”

Mike continued to call timeouts and get fresh legs on the floor as much as possible to match Sanford’s pace. And while a couple of miscues allowed Sanford to rebuild a five-point lead by halftime, Crested Butte came right back in the third quarter. Owen Pugh cut off a pick in the high post to get a pass and score, and Isaac Jennings drained a three-pointer to pull back within one of the Mustangs late in the third quarter.

The fourth would prove a turning point for Sanford as they opened up a 12-point lead in the first two minutes. Yet, once again, Crested Butte continued to battle as Jennings and Fischer both hit additional three-pointers to cut the Mustangs’ lead in half.

Time would eventually run out on the Titans though and Sanford managed to stave off one last push by Crested Butte to escape with a 42-35 win. Fischer finished the game with 18 points and when the statistics were tallied, the difference came down to free throws as the Titans hit three of eight while the Mustangs capitalized on Titan fouls to knock down 18 of their 22 free throws.

“The boys were at their ceiling most of the game,” says Mike. “They left the locker room after the game knowing what they’re capable of and that they can play with anybody. The boys realized their potential.”

The Titans take on Caprock Academy on the road Saturday, January 17 and look to remain at the level they reached against Sanford.

“It’ll be a tough game, but the boys have a renewed energy and renewed focus, and we can build upon what we did against Sanford,” says Mike.