A rollercoaster season for Steamboat Springs boys basketball came to a halting stop Wednesday night with a 48-45 first-round playoff loss to No. 8 Denver School of Science and Technology: Green Valley Ranch. 

The Sailors started the season slowly, winning just three of its first eight games. But the team managed to hit its stride at the right time, winning six straight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 16, capping off the streak with a senior night win over Moffat County. 

Getting hot at the right time helped propel the Sailors into playoff contention, and Steamboat entered the postseason as the No. 24 seed. 

Playing in Denver, Steamboat opened its playoff game stout on defense and managed to put itself in the driver’s seat with a 12-point halftime lead. 

“We started with a very hot first half. CJ Waters hit two threes and we were grooving on defense,” said senior Charlie Reisman, who knew at halftime the Raptors would not go out quietly. “Sure enough, in the third quarter, they came out hot and scored a lot of points and we didn’t score very many.”

Down 38-36, the Sailors went back-and-forth in the final quarter but were unable to get on a long enough scoring run to take back the lead. According to Reisman, the Raptors were a long and athletic team and were very good at trapping. They also managed to become more patient on offense in the second half and were much more efficient with the ball in their hands. 

Reisman said the team was down during the bus ride home but heeded the advice of coach Michael Vandahl, who told the boys to learn from this experience and take it with them moving forward in athletics and life in general. 

“For some reason, this season has not always gone our way,” Reisman said. “That is how it is and life is not always the fairest thing, but it is not always about if you succeed every time. These hardships only make for lessons to be learned and we have to keep moving on.” 

Marking the end of its season, the Sailors say goodbye to six senior players — Brady Adams, Cole Campbell, Hunter DeWolfe, Michael DiNapoli, Charlie Reisman and CJ Waters. 

“Just to be able to play basketball with them for the last seven years is something that I think is unique and doesn’t happen at a lot of other places,” Reisman said. “We have been so close for such a long time and closer than almost any other group that has come through here. It is amazing to be a part of that.”

Steamboat Springs 45, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 48
SS:      9 18  9  9 
DSST: 10 5 23 10