Rifle boys roll past Battle Mtn., 71-27
RIFLE – A 44-point win over Battle Mountain was good for the Rifle boys basketball team in two capacities.
The 71-27 victory raised the Bears perfect record in the Western Slope League to 3-0 and it also gave every player on the Bear roster appreciable playing time.
Rifle set the tone by taking a 9-0 lead in the opening 3 s, and were never challenged by the winless Huskies, who fell to 2-8 on the year with the loss.
The closest the Huskies got to Rifle was a five points at the end of the first period.
The Bears remedied that by scoring 21 points in the next eight minutes for a 31-16 halftime lead.
Jim Owens fueled a 10-2 scoring run with nine of his game-high 19 points in the second period.
Rifle distanced itself further from the Huskies with a 17-4 quarter after intermission.
The four points allowed to Battle Mountain in the third quarter pleased Rifle coach Chris Lowther the most.
“I’m not to much concerned about how much we score, it’s how much we allow. I’m concerned with,” Lowther said.
“I believe that we are a patient team, and we let our defense generate what our offense does.”
The Bears concluded the contest with a defensive masterpiece. The Huskies were limited to seven points as Rifle posted 23 more points in the final quarter.
For complete box score see Scoreboard on page 14.
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