Steamboat Pilot & Today

Hayden — The Hayden boys basketball team is off to a slow start but was able to win its first game of the season over the weekend.

The Tigers recorded the win Saturday at a tournament hosted by Meeker. The Tigers defeated Uintah River, Utah, by a score of 80-60.

The win came after the Tigers were beat convincingly in two prior tournament games. The Tigers opened up the tournament Thursday by losing to Meeker. On Friday, the Tigers lost to Middle Park.

"We got better every game," Tigers get first win of year said Matt Ray, Hayden's second-year coach. "Every game we did better defensively and offensively.

"We can build off of this."

The Tigers were able to defeat the Utah team by finally shooting the ball well, Ray said.

"We played our best game of the year," he said. "We shot 51 percent from the field. We also got a lot of shots off."

The Tigers used their bench to wear down the slower Utah team, he said.

"In the third and fourth periods, their team was tired," he said. "That is when we blew the game open. It was a good game for us one that we could build confidence off of."

For the game, senior Matt Walden led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points. Adam Reck had 17, Keith Bell added 16 and Billy Hinkle pitched in with 10. The three players are all seniors.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 1-3 on the season.

The Tigers opened up the tournament against Meeker and lost 65-40.

"We did a lot of things well in the Meeker game," Ray said. "It was a tough game. We just did not hit our shots."

For the game, the Tigers shot about 40 percent from the field.

"We ran our offense well," he said. "We missed some open shots."

Although the Tigers were down double digits for most of the game, the team did not quit, he said.

"We played hard throughout the game," he said. "They kept on working even though we were down."

The Tigers were led in scoring by Walden, who had 11 points. Bell had 8 and senior Matt Miner had 6.

On Friday, the Tigers lost to Middle Park, 80-49.

"They had a really good team," Ray said. "They were big and were also quick."

The Tigers played well in the first half and trailed at halftime, 24-36.

"We had a let-down in the second half," Ray said.

For the game, the Tigers shot 30 percent from the field.

The Tigers open up league play this weekend. Hayden will travel Friday to take on North Park. On Saturday, Hayden will host Plateau Valley. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.