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Huskies come back to triumph over Bulldogs

Chris Freud
BMGBB Hite and Jacobson PU 2-5 Preston Utley/putley@vaildaily.com Battle Mountain's Katie Hite, left, and Jessica Jacobson watch in suspense while thier team comes back from a fifteen point defecit to win Saturday nights game against Palisade.
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EAGLE-VAIL – Leads are not safe in Eagle-Vail.The Glenwood Springs boys basketball team learned that last month when the Huskies overcame a 28-6 second-quarter deficit to win.The Palisade girls learned that lesson the hard way Saturday night as the Lady Huskies stormed back from a 32-17 disadvantage with 5:55 left in the third quarter to win, 51-46.”That was awesome,” senior Meagan Reigel said. “I didn’t even know we were down that much. We just focused on playing our game of basketball. That’s what happens when we play like a team.””I came in at halftime and said, ‘Don’t hang your head because 15 points is nothing,'” Huskies coach David Hite said. “They came out, showed some grit and toughness defensively. Our offense was running all night.”

The Huskies started to heat up late in the third quarter with a 13-5 run to end the period. Lauren Prewitt had four of her seven points in that span. Kaeli Hosler had a 3-point play, and then there was Reigel.The senior, playing with four fouls for the final 10 minutes, played without fear. Her veins were icy cold from the line, going a clutch 10-for-12. In all, she had 16 points.The gym really started rocking when Jessica Jacobson dropped in two 3s to close to 41-38. The Huskies took the lead for good with 1:25 remaining when Hosler’s gorgeous inbounds pass found Alexis Guinn for an easy layup.From there, Hosler and Reigel coolly stroked six free throws to ice the game.Battle Mountain is at 5-5 in the 4A Slope and 8-10 overall, both the best marks for the program since the Liz Gallegos era of the late ’90s. The Huskies host Rifle at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

‘We want Clay’The chant from the crowd started with 4:46 left in the game between the Battle Mountain boys and Palisade.”We want Clay. We want Clay.”And Clay Wilson they got.



“You know, you’ve got to give the people what they ask for,” Huskies coach Philip Tronsrue said with a smile. “They wanted Clay Wilson. I think the only unfortunate thing was he didn’t get that one shot to go down.”And that was the only thing that didn’t go right for Battle Mountain in a 95-49 thrashing of Palisade. This game wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Had Tronsrue left his starters in, the Huskies easily would have busted the century mark.”Tonight was a lot of fun,” the coach said. “I don’t want to take anything away from Palisade. To be truthful, this is the way games should be. We’re battling for third place, and we’re in the upper portion of the league. Palisade is having a tough year. We’re at home. This is what should happen.”Performing like a symphony, the Huskies upped their record to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the Slope. The 14-win season matches those of the 2001-02 team of Josh Henry, Austin Wignall, Andy Linke, Isaac Martinez and Jimmy Medina.The Huskies got points from everywhere. Connor Drumm had a ho-hum night with 20 points. Rogelio Loya simply caught fire in the second half and ended with 19. Trent Beckley did a great job of staying out of foul trouble – his nemesis this season – and poured in 14. Kyle Leffler was feeling it with 12. Thomas Pacheco and T.J. Montoya had eight each; Derek Rush had seven, and birthday boy Vinny Cisneros had six.

Battle Mountain is at Glenwood Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 614, or cfreud@vaildaily.com.Vail, Colorado


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