The Summit High School varsity boys basketball team (5-8, 0-2 4A Western Slope) ended a five-game losing skid on Tuesday night with a 66-60 home win versus Moffat County (2-9, 0-2).
The Tigers rode improved ball handling, ball security and stingy second-half defense to the victory over the taller, bigger Bulldogs of Moffat County. Tigers head coach Jordan Buller said Summit took control of a tie game entering the fourth quarter via an increased tempo in that final frame, when Summit outscored the Bulldogs 17-11.
That faster pace was led by Summit senior point guard Brendan Collins and followed a third quarter when junior guard Corbin Furrey knocked down several timely shots to help Summit gain control of the game.
“Ball handling, speed and shooting helped to outmatch them,” Buller said. “I feel like in the second half, when we decided to go more man-to-man on defense, guys took it upon themselves to play good defense.”
That defensive effort was led by Summit junior guard Ben Rider and senior guard Wyatt Buller, who is also the Tigers’ leading scorer on the season. Coach Buller said the Tigers rely heavily on that duo for teamwork and communication on both ends of the floor. That includes the rebounding department, where Wyatt Buller excelled on Tuesday. Coach Buller said Wyatt’s ability to convert shots via both on-ball screens and off-ball screens has consistently served as the team’s most consistent offense scheme this year.
“He’s been filling it up for us,” Coach Buller said of Wyatt Buller’s season thus far. “He does a good job finding ways to get buckets, and guys on the team are doing a good job of finding him.
Recommended Stories For You
Summit will return to action on Thursday on the road at Eagle Valley (7 p.m.), before returning for a Saturday home game versus Palisade (2 p.m.)
Girls basketball
The Summit High School girls basketball team (3-8, 0-2) will return to action Thursday hoping to end their own five-game losing skid when they take on Eagle Valley on the road at 5:30 p.m.
On the season, Tigers junior point guard Nicole Kimball leads the team in scoring with 11.8 points-per-game to go along with 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.9 steals per contest. The Tigers are led in rebounding by junior Anna Tomlinson (6.0 per game). The next home game for the Tigers will be on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. versus Palisade.
Hockey
The Summit ice hockey team (4-6, 0-5) will return home to Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge on Friday for a matchup versus Denver’s Mullen High School at 6:30 p.m.
The Tigers will be looking to make it three consecutive home wins in a row after Summit’s impressive 10-4 win over Palmer last Friday night.