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Coal Ridge junior Hank DiMarco looks for an opening in the lane against the Rifle defense, in the Titans’ 52-25 win over the Bears at Rifle High School Tuesday night.
Theresa Hamilton/courtesy
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Rifle senior Trey Lujan finds an opening in the lane in the Bears’ intra-district game against Coal Ridge Tuesday night.
Theresa Hamilton/courtesy
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Coal Ridge junior Hank DiMarco goes up for the shot Tuesday night in the Titan’s 52-25 win over the Rifle Bears.
Theresa Hamilton/courtesy
The Coal Ridge High School boys basketball team jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday night in the Jack Smith Gymnasium in Rifle, en route to a convincing 52-25 win over the Rifle High Bears.
Titans senior Austin Gerber came out on fire from the start, finishing with 13 of his team’s 15 first-quarter points, including three 3-pointers.
After a 15-4 first quarter lead, three other Coal Ridge players were able to find the basket leading to a halftime score of 26-12.
Coming out of halftime, it seemed as though Bears might just have found a spark as senior Garret Robinson hit a long 3-pointer. But the Titans defensive pressure proved too much.
Although the scoring was consistent for the Titans throughout the night, coach Paul Harvey was most proud of their “strong defensive effort and key shots.”
High scorer and senior Austin Gerber wants to use this win “to continue to build the confidence of the team and to raise the standard.”
The Titans had two players in double figures, including Gerber with 23 points, while junior Hank DiMarco tallied 13 points for the night.
The Bears found scoring from junior Tido Ruiz with 11 points, senior Trey Lujan with eight points, and senior Garret Robinson with six points.
GIRLS
Coal Ridge 56, Rifle 31
In the second meeting between the Coal Ridge and Rifle girls basketball teams, Coal Ridge looked to bounce back from the 27-34 defeat against the Bears earlier in the month.
And they did just that.
The Titans were able to come out with a solid 56-31 win, which was propelled by intense full-court pressure and a career night from senior Lyanna Nevarez, as she poured in 17 points.
The Titans were able to jump out to an early 11-2 lead in the first quarter fueled by two 3-pointers from freshman Jackie Camunez and one from Nevarez.
The defensive pressure would not slow down either, as the Titans would finish out the half 28-13.
Titans head coach Clyde Morgan was most excited about the wide variety of scoring, saying “there is not one person who will be able to carry them to a win.”
The theme remained the same as 10 different Titan players were able to find the basket in the win.
Nevarez was quick to highlight the team chemistry, saying “it felt more like a team tonight.”
The Bears found scoring from senior Natalie Schauster and junior Mackenzie Elizarado with 12 and eight points, respectively.
For the Titans, Camunez added eight points and Taylor Wiescamp contributed seven points.
Next up: Rifle’s teams finish the pre-winter break schedule with a game at Moffat County on Thursday night, followed by a home contest versus Basalt on the Friday.
The Titans close out pre-holiday play versus Paonia Friday night.
