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Basalt boys knock down wins

Aspen Times Staff Report

The Basalt High School boys basketball team posted a pair of 3A Western Slope League wins over the weekend.

On Friday, Basalt beat a struggling Meeker team 67-50 before edging a strong Paonia team 62-56 Saturday.

Playing at Meeker on Friday, Basalt overcame foul trouble and gradually staked a 17-point victory.



“They’re a scrappy team and they play hard,” Basalt coach Paul Cain said. “We came through our foul troubles and finished strong. It was a good effort, always nice to get a win on the road.”

Senior Pablo Calderon led the Longhorns with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Junior point guard Ki Mulcahy added 13 points and dished out 9 assists. Forward Danny Martinez netted 10 points, and shooting guard Jack Lutzeier added 9. Center Chris Keran hauled down 19 rebounds and contributed 8 points.




Paonia, a top-10 ranked team in Class 3A in Colorado last week, gave Basalt a tight game until the finish, when Basalt’s clutch free-throw shooting put the game out of reach.

Basalt extended its three-point lead through three quarters to ten with less than three minutes remaining, Cain said. “Then, on the next four consecutive possessions, they fouled us, we hit two foul shots, and then they’d come down and hit a three-pointer,” the coach said.

Basalt shot 13-of-13 from the charity stripe in the final minutes and 25-of-28 total. “That was the difference,” Cain said.

Mulcahy led Basalt with 18 points, followed by Lutzeier with 15 and Thomas Tankersly with 10.

“It was a big win for us,” Cain said of the win that boosted his club to 3-1 in league play. “I was really pleased with our effort late and our composure down the stretch.”

Basalt hosts Hotchkiss at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Hotchkiss, also 3-1 in league play, should “be a big test for us,” Cain said.

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