Moffat County basketball tops Basalt
Scoring at Basalt
Girls Varsity
Lisa Camilletti 15 points
Makayla Camilletti 11
Sassy Murray 10
Kori Finneman 10
Tori Snyder 9
Kyleen Ellgen 6
Bailey Hellander 6
Katelyn Peroulis 4
Allie Ehlers 2
Brittany Walker 2
Boys Varsity
Tyler Davis 22 points
Taft Cleverly 11
Joe Camilletti 7
Tyler Hildebrandt 7
Wyatt Oberwitte 6
Phillip Chadwick 6
Javen Gumber 6
Kort Hatthorn 3
Moffat County basketball remained on track in league play, with both teams picking up wins at Basalt.
The girls team had a hot start and took its foot off the gas in the second half, while the boys used a big second half to separate from the Longhorns. Both Bulldogs teams are 11-1 in the Western Slope League with four games to play.
Girls jump on Basalt early
The lady Bulldogs had a hot-shooting first quarter and put away Basalt early on their way to a 75-51 win.
Moffat County scored 30 points in the first quarter and held a 49-24 lead at halftime in what Matt Ray said was a complete offensive performance.
“We came out in the press at first, got some nice easy layups,” he said. “In the first quarter almost every shot went in. We didn’t miss a lot.”
With the game well in hand at halftime, Moffat County slowed its game down and was able its entire bench out for much of the second half. The result was a more evenly played third and fourth quarter, but not a game that got much closer.
“We went back to halfcourt defense (in the second half) and played a lot of the other kids,” Ray said. “Everybody scored except for one, which is good.”
While the Bulldogs’ defense helped create the big lead in the first half, Ray said it wasn’t quite as good in the second. But, he admitted, that’s at least partially because of his orders as the coach.
“The second half, I didn’t feel like it was as good of a defensive effort, but what do you do when you’re calling your kids back, telling them to back off,” he said. “Overall, it was a good game for us.”
Boys finish strong with high-scoring 2nd half
Moffat County was struggling offensively and in a dogfight at the halftime horn.
The Bulldogs led Basalt, 20-19, at the break and had not been their best on offense. But then they found their shooting groove and pulled away for a 68-43 win.
Basalt “played us pretty tough for the first half, it was 20-19,” coach Eric Hamilton said about the game. “Then we came out and had a 48-point second half, which was pretty awesome.”
Hamilton said Moffat County stepped up its play in every facet of the game, leading to the separation on the scoreboard.
“We picked up our defensive pressure and really got into attack mode on offense,” he said. “The speed of the game, we took it up about three notches in the second half.”
Moffat County’s offense especially picked up, with sophomore Tyler Davis leading the way with 22 points.
“Our offense was much more potent in the second half,” Hamitlton said. “We started moving the ball well, and we were able to penetrate.”
The big second half was good to see for Hamilton, after the Bulldogs have not maintained their intensity in several games this season, including a recent home game against Gunnison. With a big week of basketball coming up, it was the type of play that instills confidence for a coach.
“That was perfect,” Hamilton said. “This coming week’s a really tough week but a lot of fun. This is a huge week for us. To have a good second half like that, it’s big.”
Nate Waggenspack can be reached at 875-1795 or nwaggenspack@craigdailypress.com.
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