Titans boys basketball falls in first round of state

“We ran into a really good team and didn’t have our best day”

[  by Than Acuff  ]

It was a rough post season for the Crested Butte Titans boys basketball team as the Titans fell to both Lake County and Del Norte in the district tournament. Still, their strong schedule and late season run was enough to garner the Titans the 21st seed in the 2A state tournament setting them up to face 12th seeded Peyton High School on Friday, March 4, a seasoned veteran of the post season. 

“Peyton made the final four last year,” says coach Hannes Gehring.  

The Titans had four days to shake off the district losses and reset their focus on Peyton fine-tuning their plan for the challenge ahead.

“We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to do against Peyton,” says Gehring. “The first day of workouts was hard coming off three games the week before and dealing with legitimate fatigue, both mental and physical. And that’s always the challenge, focusing on your opponent when your body and mind are tired.”

Once it was game time though, the Titans were ready and they had a little fortune on their side through the first two quarters including a banked three pointer from half court to end the first quarter and they stayed in striking distance through the second quarter down 34-24 at halftime.

“The ball was relatively bouncing our way in the first half and yet we were still down 10,” says Gehring. “I knew we had an uphill battle in the second half.”

Peyton then took control in the third quarter. Playing a high-paced game with organized team defense and tall, quick guards, Peyton outscored the Titans 29-8 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and eventually cruised to the 74-43 win. Peyton would go on in their next game to take down the number one seed in the regional bracket and advance to the Great Eight.

“They pushed the pace more than any other team we faced,” says Gehring. “Peyton forced us into things we didn’t want to do. I felt like we got outcoached and a little outplayed. We ran into a really good team and didn’t have our best day. They’re a team that’s getting hot at just the right time.”

On a positive note, the Titans did see offense from a variety of players as Alan Prieto led with 12 points, Grayson White scored 11 and Erik Wasinger had 10 points in the game while Jamis Matlock dropped in eight points and Jacob Bernholtz scored seven.

While the Titans had a rough finish to the season, the season was far from a failure. After dealing with injuries and illnesses at the start and opening the season 1-5, they went on to win 11 of their last 13 games and finished in second place in the Southern Peaks league.

“We faced a lot of adversity early and when a team is 1-5, it would be easy for them to give up,” says Gehring. “But the kids did a great job sticking with it. 11-2 is an impressive run and showed what we’re capable of at full strength. You have to be happy with a winning season. They gave everything and left it all out on the court and, to me, that’s what is most important.”

With his inaugural season under his belt, Gehring looks ahead and sees good things in the years to come.

“There’s always growing pains with a new coach,” says Gehring. “I do think we’re headed in a really good direction. The kids got so much better as the season progressed and there’s potential we haven’t even scratched yet.”