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Moffat County boys use run to beat Coal Ridge

Nate Waggenspack
Tyler Davis goes to the hoop in the fourth quarter Friday in Craig. Davis scored 12 points for Moffat County as it beat Coal Ridge at home, 70-51.
Nate Waggenspack

MCHS scoring vs. Coal Ridge

Kort Hathhorn 23

Tyler Davis 12

Javen Gumber 8

Joe Camilletti 8

Taft Cleverly 7

Denton Taylor 6

Matt Hamilton 6

— The Moffat County boys basketball team used a quick spurt of points to seize a comfortable lead from Coal Ridge and never looked back.

After a cold-shooting start to the game had the Bulldogs behind 13-12 early in the second quarter, they put together eight quick points to make it 20-13. The margin hovered near double digits for much of the game until another run carried them to a 70-51 win.

Moffat County (7-2, 5-1 Western Slope League) didn’t pull away from the Titans (5-7, 5-4) until midway through the fourth, but Coal Ridge did not threaten to tie it up, either.



Coal Ridge “came out and played tough to start,” head coach Eric Hamilton said. “They’re a good team. I’m happy with the way our kids stuck with the intensity and finished the game. We outscored them by 10 in the fourth quarter — that shows you we were playing defense that whole game.”

Hamilton said he thought the Bulldogs took control midway through the second with that run. Kort Hathhorn, who led Moffat County with 23 points in the game, credited teammate Tyler Davis for helping pull the team out of its early-game funk.



“He was giving out handshakes and pumping us up,” Hathhorn said about his teammate during the early part of the game. “Then the coaches were getting into that, too, and I think it got us going.”

Coal Ridge center Andy Bowles poured in 18 points for the Titans but left several more at the foul line. Alec Herrera, who scored 29 in his last visit to Craig, was held to just 10 by the Moffat County guards Friday.

On a couple of occasions in the second half, Coal Ridge chipped the lead below double figures, but Moffat County responded each time. Midway through the fourth quarter, Matt Hamilton scored all six of his points on three possessions and Hathhorn added a 3-pointer to push the lead out near 20.

The win keeps Moffat County one loss behind Aspen in the WSL standings, while Coal Ridge remains in fifth behind Roaring Fork and Grand Valley.

“I’m happy with that win,” Hamilton said. “That’s a tough team, and we had to play the whole game.”

Contact Nate Waggenspack at 970-875-1795 or nwaggenspack@CraigDailyPress.com.


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