YOUR AD HERE »

Longhorns split with Saints

Mike Vidakovich
sports@postindependent.com

Senior post player Michael Glen poured in 17 first-half points to propel the Basalt boys out to a 34-15 halftime advantage, and the Longhorns went on to easily post a 73-29 victory over the Vail Christian Saints on Saturday.

Glen, making things look easy for much of the night inside the painted area, got early scoring help from guard Raul Torres who netted four baskets, and senior forward Wade Soho who helped the cause with seven points.

“He certainly can change the game for us in a good way,” Basalt head coach Danny Martinez, speaking of Glen, said. “We came out a little flat in the first half, but we played better team basketball in the second half, and that got things going for us.”



The Saints were never able to make much of a dent in the Basalt armor as the lead of the purple and gold stretched to 55-25 by the end of the third quarter, thanks to the continued inside scoring of Glen and senior Miles Levy.

The final quarter of play was punctuated with a highlight reel lob pass from junior guard Justin Henderson to Glen for a dunk that brought the Longhorn crowd to its feet.



The leaders in the scoring column for Basalt were Glen with 29 points and 14 rebounds. Henderson and Torres each contributed 12 points for the Longhorns, with Soho getting nine points and Levy helping out with eight points.

With the victory, Basalt upped its record to 4-1 for the preseason. The Longhorns will play in the Cortez Tournament starting next Thursday, December 15.

VAIL CHRISTIAN 45, BASALT 19

The Vail Christian Saints used a decisive height advantage underneath the basket to pull away from the ladies of Basalt on Saturday night, posting a 45-19 victory in the season home opener for the Longhorns.

Basalt, without the services of senior starter Carsyn Knotts and two other regulars due to team violations, started an all-junior group against the Saints. It was guard Cintia Miramontes who put the Longhorns up early as she hit a free throw and a driving layup to give her team a brief 3-2 lead at the 4:57 mark of the initial quarter of play.

Vail Christian’s Morgan Calton and Kass Baker got consecutive steals and baskets off the full court press to give the Saints an 8-6 edge. Promising freshman guard Riley Webb scored five first-half points for Basalt on a three-pointer and a side jumper as the home team on the scoreboard was down 18-12 at halftime.

With several young faces on the court most of the night for Basalt, the Longhorns were only able to manage seven second half points as Baker and fellow Saint Jessie Raitt scored uncontested baskets from in close to continually put a damper on Basalt comeback hopes.

“We had a pretty young team on the court for most of the game,” Basalt coach Katheryne Fitzpatrick said. “We’re missing three starters right now, so everyone is adjusting to playing different positions. The girls played hard though.”

Miramontes led Basalt (1-4) in scoring with nine points.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.