Things keep getting better, Hayden High School boys basketball coach Mike Luppes said, and he saw the evidence of that Saturday in a home game against Paonia.

The Tigers won their first game in more than two full seasons last month, but Luppes said the team’s performance in a 54-37 loss to Paonia was its sharpest to this point.

“That was by far our best game of the season so far,” he said.

Hayden led after the first quarter, then hung with the Eagles until the final minutes.

Alan Aguirre led Hayden with 15 points. Ethan Kern added nine and what Luppes termed a solid defensive effort.

“We were with them most of the way and we had some real good efforts out of our kids,” Luppes said. “We did a lot of things better we’ve been working on improving.”

The Tigers, 1-9, were coming off a 79-45 loss against Vail Christian.

Last week, it lost 70-28 against Rangely and 66-28 against Meeker.

“Overall, we’re making strides every game,” Luppes said. “That’s what we’re going for. We figure these last two weekends we played the four toughest teams in the league, so we’re ready for our second season now.”

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253, email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @JReich9.