CB Titans boys’ basketball season ends with loss to Grizzlies

“We all felt we had one more game in us and we left a victory out there”

By Than Acuff 

The Crested Butte boys’ basketball team won four of their last five games, including two District Tournament wins, but lost to the Fowler Grizzlies in the first round of the Regional tournament, ending their 2024-2025 season.

It was a good matchup for the Titans who entered the tournament the 21st seed while Fowler was ranked 12th when the two teams met Friday, March 7 at Plateau Valley High School.

“We were in a tough region, but we were expecting to be competitive with Fowler,” says head coach Mike Bacani. “We fully intended to have a shot at beating them.”

Luke Jennings started the scoring for the Titans battling inside for two and while Fowler’s first handful of shots missed the mark, a 7-0 run capped by the only three-pointer from either team all game, had them up 7-2. Adin Kurak was blanketed by a Fowler defender but managed to slip through to score five points and Bridger Flores added in a bucket to hold Fowler to a 12-9 lead by the end of the first quarter.

“We wanted Adin to attack the basket early on and put pressure on their defense,” says Bacani. “The key early on was we were not making shots we’re used to making.”

The Grizzlies put in a surge to push further ahead 20-13 three minutes into the second quarter, but when Tyus Fisher scored off an inbounds play, Eli Hulm picked a Fowler player off the ball to score and Flores and Kurak combined for five more points, the Titans were up 23-22. Fowler had the final say of the first half though as they scored four quick points to take a 26-23 lead into halftime.

“If you’d told me we would hold Fowler to 26 points in the first half, I’d sign up for that,” says Bacani. “Our first shot defense was great so our message was let’s just keep doing what we’re doing and the shots will start falling. We were stopping them, we just couldn’t score.”

Crested Butte pulled back to within one point of Fowler on baskets by Flores and Kurak but ran into a bit of trouble as two players picked up their third fouls and Kurak went down with an injury. Fisher and Jennings provided additional offense for the Titans but Fowler’s speed and work for rebounds would make the difference as they took a 38-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We had to go deeper in our bench due to foul trouble and the kids battled,” says Bacani. “But, when you’re sitting two seniors at a time in a game of that magnitude, it does make a difference.”

The game appeared to be slipping away as the Grizzlies pulled ahead 43-33 but a 6-0 run by Crested Butte had them back in the mix. Crested Butte was then forced to foul to stop the clock and while the Grizzlies struggled from the line hitting just four of their 10 free throws, their work on the boards helped finish off the Titans 49-39. Kurak led the Titans with 15 points and finished the season averaging just over 20 points per game. Flores scored seven, Jennings six and Hulm five points in their final high school game.

“We just couldn’t secure the rebound at that time,” says Bacani. “There’s not one game all season that we haven’t been undersized, and we fought but at big times, in big games, size becomes a factor. The game was a microcosm of our season. It was never out of reach, but we were never out far enough to be comfortable.”

The Titans finished 13-11 overall, one game shy of their initial goal for the season.

“We’re content but definitely not satisfied or happy,” says Bacani. “We all felt we had one more game in us and we left a victory out there.”

Bacani’s hope is that the underclassmen learned by watching seniors Kurak, Hulm, Flores and Jennings this year and will take that moving forward.

“We hope the underclassmen take something away from the season, they’re already asking when we will have open gyms,” says Bacani.