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Steamboat basketball steamrolls Moffat County, extends win streak to seven

Steamboat Springs junior Brady Adams dribbles around a Moffat County defender and drives to the hoop in a boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Steamboat won the game 49-32.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today

From the jump, Steamboat Springs boys basketball had the advantage in the rivalry game against Moffat County on Friday, Jan. 27. The Sailors went on to close out the game with a 49-32 victory to extend the team’s winning streak to seven games and putting them 7-0 in league play.

The Sailors had an itch for scoring in the first quarter, putting up 13 unanswered points to start the game and leaving the visiting Bulldogs in an early hole.

Steamboat assistant coach Tanner Stillwell says while he was thankful to see the shots go down, he was much more proud of the way the Sailors remained tough defensively in that quarter and throughout the game. 



“That was a huge focus for us this week and the guys came out and executed our gameplan,” Stillwell said. “Then that ferocity to dive on the floor and get every loose ball, wrap up possessions and rebounds, all those little things we take pride in and we’ll focus on getting better at that for the rest of the season.”

Steamboat maintained a double-digit lead through the duration of the contest but any chance of a Moffat County comeback disappeared at the buzzer to end the third quarter.



Junior Brady Adams took the ball down court as the final seconds of the quarter ticked off. He found sophomore Jeffrey Sturges in the corner who got the ball out quick and drained a 3-pointer to put the Sailors ahead by 20 points.

Sturges gives Adams all the credit for the shot and says it was huge for team morale heading into the fourth quarter.

“It pulls us into the huddle a lot quicker,” Sturges said. “We look at each other and we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s go!’ We can feel it coming. There’s blood in the water, if you know what I’m saying.”

Crashing to the hoop, Steamboat Springs senior Austin Moore finds an open teammate in the corner during the final minutes of the boys basketball’s rivalry game against Moffat County on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat was scheduled to play Coal Ridge on Saturday, Jan. 28, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather. The game has a chance of being rescheduled but officially the next game will be against Battle Mountain on Wednesday, Feb. 1. 

Seven more league games remain for the Sailors, who acknowledged as a team the job is not finished. Senior Ethan Hoy, who has led the team in scoring this year, says he had the Moffat County game circled on his calendar since last year. 

Senior Ethan Hoy goes up for a shot attempt with defenders in his face during a Steamboat Springs boys basketball game against Moffat County on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today

He hopes to build off this win and take the energy through the rest of the season and into the playoffs. 

“Pretty much every day is a new day and one of our mantras is, ‘we haven’t won anything yet,’” Hoy said. “Just because we’ve won seven games, our goal is to make it deep in the playoffs. Job is not done and every day is a new day.”

Steamboat Springs 49, Moffat County 32
SS 13 5 18 13
MC 1 6  9  16


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