Steamboat Pilot & Today

The West Grand Mustangs have been a thorn in the side of many Hayden High School boys sporting efforts.

The Mustangs regularly find a way to thwart the Tigers basketball team, and last fall they proved to be a crucial stumbling block for the football program.

So, Hayden boys basketball coach Mike Luppes didn’t have any problem savoring what happened Friday night. The Tigers unleashed a bit of pent-up frustration in Kremmling, blasting West Grand 85-47.

“We had some fun tonight,” Luppes said.

No doubt it helped which team was on the other end of the scoreboard, but all coaches would find some joy in the way the Tigers opened the 2013 portion of their schedule. They had four players in double figures and controlled the game wire to wire.

Senior forward Jorge Valdez scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds and six assists, showing as well as anyone else how powerful the Tigers can be when things go according to plan.

“We have to run our offense through our posts, and when we do that, we can get those kick passes out and those guys down low can get assists,” Luppes said.

Mark Doolin had 19 points. Isaac Bridges had one of his best games, scoring 18. Paul Laliberte had 13 points and six assists, Aaron Cramer had nine points and Greg Frentress scored five.

Luppes also pointed a finger at Dan Engle, who played well coming off the bench.

“We’ve had our struggles out there against West Grand, even in our really good years,” Luppes said. “It’s been four years since we won at their place, so we’re a really happy crowd. ... We had a lot of strong individual performances, and that made up a superb team effort.”

Hayden (5-2) next plays at 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Vail Mountain.