Steamboat Today: Hayden boys top Vail Christian, 51-34

Archive for Sunday, February 22, 2009

Hayden High School senior Zach Barnes goes up for a layup Saturday during the playoff game against Vail Christian. Hayden won, 51-34.

2 matchups remain for Tigers boys basketball in district tournament

By Melinda Dudley Sunday, February 22, 2009

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Photo by Matt Stensland

Hayden High School senior Zach Engle drives toward the basket during the first half.

Photo by Matt Stensland

Hayden High School senior Jeremy Engle takes a jump shot during the first half of Saturday's playoff game against Vail Christian.

Game statistics

Score by quarter

Hayden 12 15 5 19 - 51

Vail Christian 7 9 3 15 - 34

Hayden - Z. Barnes, 15; B. Zehner, 11; Z. Engle, 8; M. Smartt, 8; J. Engle, 6; G. Medvesk, 3.

Vail Christian - L. Cavanaugh, 12; A.J. Burgess, 7; C. Schmidt, 7; D. Christie, 2; E. Ristow, 2; F. Hernandez, 2; T. Emmer, 2.

Hayden boys basketball, 2008-09

Dec. 2, Hayden 53, Vail Christian 51; (1-0, 1-0)
Dec. 5, Rangely 55, Hayden 52; (1-1, 1-0)
Dec. 11, Hayden 64, Altamont 55 at Meeker Tournament; (2-1, 1-0)
Dec. 12, Meeker 64, Hayden 46 at Meeker Tournament; (2-2)
Dec. 13, Hayden 57, Rangely 46 at Meeker Tournament; (3-2)(
Dec. 18, Hayden 63, Soroco 54; (4-2)
Dec. 20, Baggs, Wyo. 64, Hayden 43; (4-3)
Jan. 9, Hayden 59, West Grand 53; (5-3)
Jan. 10, Plateau Valley 59, Hayden 35; (5-4)
Jan. 17, Hayden 80, De Beque 50;(6-4)
Jan. 20, Meeker 56, Hayden 46;(6-5)
Jan. 23, Hayden 65, Paonia 33;(7-5)
Jan. 27, Hayden 64, Baggs 43;(8-5)
Jan. 30, Hayden 76, North Park 27;(9-5)
Jan. 31, Rangely 58, Hayden 53;(9-6)
Feb. 6, Meeker 73, Hayden 45;(9-7)
Feb 7, Hayden 43, Vail Christian 30;(10-7)
Feb. 13, Hayden 47, Soroco 42;(11-7)
Feb. 14, Hayden 76, North Park 42;(12-7)

Steamboat Springs — The Hayden boys basketball team struggled offensively Saturday, but opponents Vail Christian struggled even more and the Tigers kept their season alive with a decisive 51-34 win.

Thanks to Saturday's victory, the Tigers will continue on to the district tournament with games Friday and Saturday in Meeker and are guaranteed a spot in the upcoming regionals.

Hayden and Vail Christian had trouble getting to the basket Saturday, culminating in a dismal third quarter with only eight points scored between the teams.

"We really struggled offensively today, right from the tip-off," Vail Christian coach Sheldon Kuhns said. "We had some decent opportunities under the basket but didn't score."

The game started off a little more promising, with Vail Christian leading early in a tight first quarter. Hayden senior Billy Zehner wowed the home crowd with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from behind the half-court line to end the first quarter 12-7.

Hayden continued to pull away from Vail Christian, ending the second quarter, 27-16, and allowing points by only three of the Saints: seniors Chris Schmidt and A.J. Burgess and junior Larry Cavanaugh.

Both teams went scoreless for nearly six minutes at the start of the third quarter, despite trips to the free-throw line by Hayden junior Murphy Smartt and Vail Christian's Schmidt. Vail Christian's leading scorer, Cavanaugh, finally got the game moving again with a layup, and Hayden's Zehner got his team back in the game by nailing two from the line.

"The third quarter was ugly," Luppes said. "I said to the team: The bad news is we scored five points. The good news is we extended our lead."

Hayden's five points and Vail Christian's three brought the score to 3219 heading into the fourth quarter.

After the low-scoring third quarter, the Saints rallied back, narrowing Hayden's lead to nine before the Tigers pushed it back to 17, closing out Vail Christian's season with a 34-51 loss.

"The fourth quarter, we started running and pushing their press," Luppes said.

Despite the Saints' offensive struggles, including missed fast breaks and trouble getting to the free-throw line, Kuhns said he was happy with his team's defensive performance, holding Hayden to 51.

Hayden's top scorer, Barnes, had seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, with 5-for-6 shooting at the free-throw line Saturday.

As a team, the Tigers went 9 of 4 at the free-throw line, besting the Saints' 4 of 7.

Hayden will take on Plateau Valley or Paonia at 5 p.m. Friday in Meeker.