Titan boys’ basketball takes two of three over past week

Rebound with resounding win over Del Norte

By Than Acuff 

Last week started off great for the Crested Butte Titans boys’ basketball team as they ran away to a win over the Gunnison Cowboys on Tuesday, January 27. They hit a glitch on Thursday falling to the Center Vikings but came roaring back on Saturday cruising to a big win over the Del Norte Tigers.

“We’re definitely finding out who we are and what we need to do,” says coach Mike Bacani. “I’m proud of the boys going 100% all three games.”

The Cowboys are an obvious valley rival for the Titans and won both of their meetings last season but the Titans exacted revenge in their first of two meetings this year. Crested Butte carried a comfortable lead most of the game until the Cowboys made a surge in the third quarter to cut it to three. That would be as close as they would get though as the Titans closed the third quarter with a big run and carried that momentum into the fourth quarter to finish the Cowboys off 58-34. Three Titans finished the game scoring double digits with Tyus Fischer leading the way with 16, Bennett Crabtree scoring 12 and Blake Bacani dropping in 10. Crabtree led the team with eight rebounds.

Crested Butte then returned to league play when they hosted the Center Vikings on Thursday, January 29. The Vikings came into the game with a couple of comfortable wins over teams the Titans had fallen to, and Bacani knew it would be one of their toughest games of the season.

“This was one of the more athletic teams they’ve had in a while and they have some shooters,” says Bacani.

The game opened as feared with Center’s mix of athleticism and shooting leading them to an early 9-2 lead, but Crested Butte showed no signs of panic and closed the first quarter with a buzzer beater from Blake.

“We’ve matured enough where we’re not rattled being down 9-2 anymore,” says Mike. “We know we can get the stops we need.”

Center opened the scoring in the second quarter with another three-pointer but when Isaac Jennings responded with a three of his own and scored a bucket in traffic and Crabtree spun inside for another two, the Titans were on top 13-12 midway through the quarter.

Center’s top shooter found room for two more three-pointers and the Vikings rebuilt a seven-point lead but, once again, Crested Butte showed their maturity as a steal led to a two-on-one break for Crested Butte and Blake dished to Owen Pugh for a layup to close the first half.

The coaches convened to discuss how they would stop Center’s top shooter and that’s when Crabtree spoke up to say he wanted the job.

“That attitude from a sophomore is what we’re looking for,” says Mike. “And he locked him down the rest of the game.”

The third quarter proved to be a defensive battle with both teams remaining patient on offense but, in the end, the Titans proved stronger willed as they held Center to one point all quarter and managed to score five of their own to pull within one setting up a fourth quarter not seen in Mt. Olympus in a while.

With both Crabtree and John Mitchell providing the backbone for the Titans on defense and Blake getting hot from the perimeter to knock down successive three-pointers, Crested Butte jumped out to a 26-21 lead. Center battled back to tie the game but free throws from Pugh, Fischer and Jennings and a steal and bucket by Blake helped the Titans to a 33-32 lead with a minute left and the crowd in a full frenzy.

“That was probably one of the loudest crowds I’ve heard in two or three years,” says Mike. “It was such a great atmosphere.”

Center took a two-point lead with 19 seconds left and the Titans had one last chance but their efforts to win the game fell short and the Vikings escaped with a 36-34 win. Blake led the team with 11 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter with Jennings scoring nine. Pugh led the team with eight rebounds and Crabtree finished with six steals.

“That was a really fun game to be a part of,” says Mike. “We’re seeing the boys put together a full game of effort and locked in as a team. It’s just a shame we came up short but it’s one of those games we learn from.”

Two days later the Titans were back in action to host the Del Norte Tigers, and they came out on fire. Mitchell opened the quarter with a four-point play and closed the quarter with a buzzer beater while Pugh and Fischer scored nearly every time they touched the ball to help pace Crested Butte to a 26-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.

“They came out with the same force they had against Center,” says Mike.

Del Norte switched to a zone defense to slow the Titans down in the second quarter, but Crested Butte adjusted to outscore the Tigers 11-0 in the third quarter and remain in the driver’s seat until the end for the 56-19 win. Fischer led the team with a season high 20 points, Pugh scored 12 and Mitchell added in 10 points.

“I asked John to play aggressive in the game and I thought he played his best game of the season so far,” says Mike.

Crested Butte continues to play at a nearly insane pace with three games in five days including road games against Ridgway and Custer County on Friday and Saturday, February 6-7.

“It’s definitely a tough week with back-to-back away games,” says Mike.