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Road, sweet, road for Huskies

Chris Freud

DELTA – Battle Mountain’s hockey team gets a lot of the ink – and deservedly so.But watch out, Battle Mountain maybe becoming a basketball school yet.The boys’ team is sitting at 3-3 in the Slope and 10-5, yes, 10-5 overall after Friday night after a 77-61 thumping of Delta.”We’re excited. It’s nice to be in the mix of everything,” Huskies coach Philip Tronsrue said. “I think from the players standpoint, they’ve been working hard for the last few years and it’s bearing fruit. Everybody in the league is nervous about us. They know we can play.”The Huskies proved that point to the host Panthers by putting up 26 points in the first quarter to set the tone. Trent Beckley led the way with 22 points, his second straight big game at center. Connor Drumm had 20 all in the first half before tweaking his knee. Tronsrue said the injury is not serious.But, it did mean that the Huskies had to step up in the second half. Battle Mountain got balance with 12 from Thomas Pacheco and 11 from Clint Wilson.Meanwhile, the girls’ team is holding its own at 2-4 in the Slope and 5-9 overall, a definite improvement from previous years. The Lady Huskies took out Delta, 45-34, Friday.”I put the question to the girls, ‘What is the longest winning streak you’ve had,” coach David Hite said. “They said, ‘We’ve only won one in a row.’ So, this was a good weekend to get started. We are talking it one game at a time. We knew Delta from the Western Slope Tournament. If we played good defense and took care of the basketball, we’d be in good shape.”Delta scored just three in the first and five in the fourth. There’s your good defense. And, the Huskies had a balanced attack, led by Lauren Prewitt with 14 points. Kaeli Hosler scored 10 points; Alexis Guinn nine and Megan Reigel eight.Both Battle Mountain teams head to Palisade today. It’s 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. starts for the girls and boys, respectively.Saints blow past TitansCRESTED BUTTE – With or without a Glandorf, both Vail Christian basketball teams had no problem beating Crested Butte on the road Friday night.The Lady Saints, without Rachel Glandorf, who was on a college trip to Baylor, knocked off the Titans, 65-55.”It’s very important for the girls to see that they can win without Rachel,” Saints coach Pat Doughty said. “We had several players who even without scoring played good games. Lauren Mutter and Kira Burner both alternated at the post and had very good games.”Kelly Verderber led the Saints with 20 points. She also had nine rebounds and five assists. Danielle Cavanaugh, the team’s defensive leader all year, had 10 boards and six steals. But Friday, she also had 17 points. Megan Doughty had a line of 15 points, seven steals and six assists. The Lady Saints moved to 1-3 in league and 5-7 overall.The boys, with a Glandorf – Josh – also breezed against Crested Butte, 49-33.Up just 22-21 at the half, the Saints’ defense clamped down on Crested Butte, holding the Titans to just 12 points in the final 16 minutes.”We finally got out on their 3-point shooters and we quit turning over the ball,” Saints coach Sheldon Kuhns said. “We played under control and ran our offense well.”Jamie Graef led the Saints with 15 points, while Caleb Pearson had 12. Jonathan Armstead had nine and Glandorf finished with seven.With the win, the Saints moved to 2-2 and 7-5.Vail Christian hosts Meeker today at St. Clare. The girls tip at 4 p.m., followed by the boys at 5:30 p.m.Huskies hockey postponedVAIL – Battle Mountain hockey’s date Friday night with Bishop Machebeuf was postponed when the Buffaloes’ bus broke down in Dillon. Friday’s game was a make-up for Jan. 12’s original game at Dobson. Snow canceled that affair. No new date for this elusive game has been announced.Battle Mountain hosts Liberty tonight at 6. It is Senior Night for the team’s seven elder statesmen, who will be honored before the game. Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 614 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.


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