The Summit High School boys basketball team improved their season record to 3-1 via an impressive 60-36 victory on the road over rival Battle Mountain Saturday afternoon.

Tigers head coach Jordan Buller said the team’s mental focus was on point for the majority of the game, helping Summit race out to a 13-0 lead they never relinquished. Buller said Summit’s big players did a good job of banging and keeping Battle Mountain off the boards.

Led by senior captain Hector Diaz’s on-ball defense and an improved defensive effort from sharpshooter Naz Poliuk, Summit’s guards stepped up on defense in terms of aggressive positioning and help-side rotations. On the interior, Buller was proud of the physicality and communication as they took on Battle Mountain’s screens, especially from steady senior leader Cam Kalaf and 6-foot-6-inch junior Ephraim Overstreet.

Buller said his message to the Tigers big men entering the night was that there was opportunity for Kalaf, Overstreet, Kobe Cortright, Andrew Duxbury and other Tiger players to excel on rebounding, which they did Saturday night.

“Our defense led to some good offense today,” Buller said. “We did a good job forcing some tough shots, boxing out, getting rebounds and pushing the pace. As for our offensive play, we also did a good job as a cohesive unit as a team playing together. We were watching guys come off screens, reading screens — ball handlers were reading screens — we were just flowing more in terms of our team play and that led to us getting good shots as a group. Guys were looking for each other, looking for the best shot as a team, not the best shot as an individual.”

Summit’s leading scorer was Poliuk, who drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter on his way to scoring 18 total points. Diaz finished with 14 points, scoring 9 of those in the second half, and Kalaf added 8. Summit will next play on 6:15 p.m. Friday at Palisade before hosting Eagle Valley at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Huskies girls basketball bests Tigers 49-17

The Summit girls basketball team’s season record fell to 1-4 on the season after the Tigers struggled in a 49-17 loss at Battle Mountain Saturday afternoon.

Summit sophomore Autumn Rivera led the Tigers with six points. Coach Kayle Walker-Burns said Summit was unable to find success against the Huskies’ aggressive press, which yielded Battle Mountain 9 points off turnovers in the first few moments of the game.

“We are still trying to figure out our roles and what clicks on offense,” the coach said. “We have a great group of athletes and I see them grow each game. Our mental focus has been a team struggle. I am not surprised — COVID has been tough on these kids and the short season and court time has proven to be tough as well.”

Summit will also next play at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Palisade before hosting Eagle Valley at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tigers hockey loses at Battle Mountain, Steamboat game postponed

Battle Mountain defeated Summit 6-2 on Friday night at Dobson Ice Arena in Vail .

The Tigers dropped to 0-2 on the season in a game where the Huskies outshot them 34-19. Despite the barrage Tigers goaltender Andi Bierbaum faced, Summit kept it a 3-2 game headed into the third period thanks to 28 saves from Bierbaum and goals from Blaze Ebbinghaus — unassisted on a power-play — and an even-strength tally from Ryley Cibula assisted by Zach Carleton in the second period.

Saturday’s home game versus Steamboat Springs was postponed to a to-be-determined date due to winter weather transportation concerns. Summit is next scheduled to host Crested Butte 6 p.m. Friday at Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge.

Tigers swimmers, divers host home meet

The Summit High School swim and dive team competed against Aspen and Gunnison in the Tigers home pool on Saturday.

The team’s top performers included Ashley Leidel who placed second in the 200-yard freestyle; Karlyn Frazier who placed third in the 50-yard freestyle; Liz Pfau who took first in the 1-meter dive; Abby Anderson who won third in both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke; and Avey Riberdy who took third in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Frazier, Riberdy, Kaelin Love and Emily Carsich placed third in the 200-yard medley relay and Anderson, Taylor Lee, Alice Wescott and Leidel took second in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

The team’s next swim and dive meet will be at 10:40 a.m. Saturday at Glenwood Springs.