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Montrose not in giving mood against Basalt

Jon MaletzThe Aspen TimesAspen, CO Colorado

MONTROSE, Colo. When dissecting his teams performance Tuesday night in Montrose, newly-minted Basalt head coach Jon Pettits analysis was succinct: His Longhorns played hard, but they have a long way to go. That much is clear after Basalt (1-4), fresh off an eight-point loss to rival Roaring Fork on Saturday, came out on the short end of a 76-39 blowout Tuesday against the 4A Indians.There werent many bright spots, Pettit said. We played a good opponent, and this showed what we need to work on.Chief among those is handling pressure. While the Longhorns hung with Montrose during the first half they trailed by 14 at the break they did little to combat the Indians full-court press throughout the third quarter.I dont know if we were tired or maybe winded, but they trapped out of the full court and we struggled with it, Pettit said. We fell apart in the third quarter.Consequently, Basalt lost for the third time in as many games against 4A schools this season. It dropped games to Rifle and Steamboat Springs on Dec. 5 and 6.This is why you schedule a team like this, to find out what you need to get done, Pettit said. Tonight was hopefully a good wake-up call and well figure out what to do to be successful. Thats what Id like to see.The Longhorns return to 3A Western Slope play at 7 p.m. Friday when they visit Grand Valley.

The Longhorns girls rebounded from last years loss to Montrose with 12 straight victories.They hope history repeats itself.Basalt hung with the host Indians for one quarter Tuesday, but were outmatched from there. Montrose (6-1) the Longhorns third 4A foe through five games jumped out to a 37-12 halftime lead and rolled to a 36-point victory.They were better disciplined and we had too many turnovers, Basalt head coach Carolyn Compton wrote in an e-mail to The Aspen Times. She did not return calls seeking comment.The Longhorns (1-4) were riding high after Saturdays thrilling win over valley rival Roaring Fork. While she was pleased with her teams performance against the Rams, one that helped Basalt halt a three-game losing skid to open the season, Compton knew her team would face a stiff test Tuesday.She was right. Her Longhorns trailed by nine after the first eight minutes, but were outscored, 21-5, in the second. They could muster just five points in the third quarter as the game quickly got out of hand. Melissa Stewart scored 10 points, Nicole Booth added six and Annie Wells 4 for the Longhorns, who dropped last years match with Montrose, 55-41.Basalt will look to rebound Friday at 5:30 p.m. when it visits Grand Valley.