Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Anyone harboring ambitions to play high school basketball might have missed a golden opportunity Friday in Hayden.

Someone wearing orange and sitting at the end of the bench might well have inadvertently been told to get into the game as Hayden High School boys coach Mike Luppes emptied the bench time and time again during a rout of De Beque.

The Tigers stormed to their third lopsided win in a row, downing De Beque, 83-36, on Friday night in Hayden.

“It was a lot of fun. A lot of guys got in there that usually don’t get in,” Hayden senior Brian Hoza said. “Now, we have to keep focusing on things we need to work on, even in games like this.”

The team now turns to Vail Mountain at 5 p.m. today, again at home, hoping to make it four snoozers in a row.

Vail Mountain enters the game just as De Beque did Friday’s — struggling with the season’s schedule and on the wrong end of too many lopsided games.

The Tigers certainly didn’t wear themselves out Friday. Starters played the first couple of minutes of each quarter, giving way to bench players, many of whom rarely see the court and some of whom logged their first varsity minutes.

Senior starter Ben Williams made the most of his limited time on the court, pouring in 23 points. Classmate Brandon Ray had the best game of his varsity career, scoring 17, and sophomore Mark Doolin joined the pair in double figures, adding 10.

Aside from a second-quarter surge in which De Beque scored 17 points, Hayden dominated the game on defense.

“We played much better defensively in the second half,” Luppes said. “Offensively we weren’t as patient as I’d have liked, but when our guys have easy 3-pointers staring them in the face, that’s tough to turn down.

“In the end, it’s a league win, and any league win is a good one.”