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Roaring Fork rolls past Battle Mountain

Battle Mountain's Devin Huffman goes for the hoop against Roaring Fork on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Edwards. Huffman got going late, but the Huskies fell to the Rams.
Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com |

EDWARDS — It’s been a long 10 days for Battle Mountain boys basketball.

On Saturday, Jan. 6, the Huskies beat Summit County to move to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the 4A Slope.

Ten days later, Battle Mountain lost its fourth in a row, a 50-42 loss to Roaring Fork on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Edwards, which presents the $64,000 question — how do the Huskies turn it around — and quick?



“Again, we, we’re getting shots. The first half, we were 2-for-18 from inside around the paint area,” Huskies coach Phil Tronsrue said. “We’re missing conversions. In key situations, we’re missing free throws, the front end of a 1-and-1. We had six turnovers in the second half. Those are all things that are correctable.”

The Huskies (6-7) fell behind, 15-5, after eight minutes, but managed to scrap their way back behind three 3-pointers from Owen Ruotolo in the second. Battle Mountain’s defense seemed to settle in during the third, and Devin Huffman, having an off night to this point, started to heat up late in that stanza, closing the Rams’ lead to 31-28.

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Liam McKenny had a 3-point play during the fourth quarter. Midawy through the last quarter, Huffman had three straight field goals, including a slam, and the Huskies were within 40-37 with 3:29 left, but could get no closer.

Huffman and Ruotolo led the Battle Mountain with 11 points each.

Rams win board battle to beat Huskies

There’s a reason the bubble goes over the hoop in practice.

Rebounding is the key to winning basketball games, and the Huskies were stung on the glass in a 44-42 nonconference loss to Roaring Fork on Tuesday, Jan. 16 in Edwards.

The visiting Rams simply got too many chances in the paint on both ends, sending the Huskies (5-7) to their third straight loss.

“Today, they got a lot of defensive rebounds,” Huskies coach Kari Backstrom said. “They were physical, but I think we did a nice job adjusting to it. It was a well fought game and they played from beginning to end.”

The lack of rebounds negated a furiously-fought fourth quarter for Battle Mountain. Audrey Teague hit from downtown to tie it at 29. Gabriela Caballero forget a tie at 31 with a put back. Claire Krueger, though with four fouls, played fearlessly in the fourth, including two big buckets.

Ariel Webb had a big jumper and Caballero tied it at 40 with 1:21 left. The Rams’ Gabriela Santana’s layup with 1:04 left, however, proved to be the game-winner.

Both Battle Mountain teams play the Denver School of Science & Technology: Green Valley on Saturday, Jan. 20. The girls are at home at 2:30 p.m., while the gents are down on the Front Range.

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.


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