Spartan boys split last two conference games
By Dan Karpiel
The Surveyor
Games against conference opponents always mean a little bit more. The Berthoud High School (BHS) boys basketball team split their two most recent Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) games, besting Erie by a comfortable 69-53 final Saturday on the road, but then the Spartans fell at home on Tuesday night to always-tough Holy Family, 68-44.

File photo – Berthoud’s Jake Lozinski goes up for a shot in a game at BHS last year. The Spartans notched a win over Erie on Saturday but dropped their other two conference games in the last week to Holy Family and Roosevelt.
What was perhaps the biggest positive to come out of the win in Erie was the fact Berthoud rallied from a six-point halftime deficit, 32-26 to win the game by the 16-point margin, thanks to a torrid second half. The third quarter has been a trouble spot for Berthoud throughout the season, but against Erie the Spartans exorcised those demons. Berthoud hung 20 on the board in the third quarter and another 23 in the fourth, more in each than Erie was able to muster in the entire second half.
Berthoud saw five players hit double digits in scoring, with Ben Burkett and Curtis Peacock each scoring 15, Jake Lozinski adding 13, and junior Cooper Stratmeyer pouring in 10 more. Berthoud also killed it off the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers 40-21, with Brent Hoogland pulling down 10 boards and Lozinski recording another 10 to finish the night with a double-double. Winning the rebound battle by such a large margin had to please Berthoud Head Coach Mike Burkett, who has been stressing that aspect of the game all season long. The Spartans also shot an impressive 51 percent from the floor and added 20 points from the free-throw line.
The momentum generated from the win on the road in Erie did not, unfortunately from their perspective, carry over against Holy Family. The always-tough Tigers built an early lead and Berthoud was unable to catch up. Holy Family out-scored Berthoud 17-9 in the first quarter and 16-7 in the second to take a commanding 33-16 lead in to the locker room at halftime.
Berthoud did their best to battle in the second half, scoring at a better clip than in the first 16 minutes of play, but the Tigers kept their lead at a comfortable margin throughout. Ben Burkett finished the game with a team-best 14 points, making good on four of eight from three-point range and also paced the Spartans with nine rebounds. Peacock added another 11 points for Berthoud.
Burkett’s play of late has given the Berthoud offense a major boost. The senior admitted his play in the first half of the season, before the two-plus-week-long holiday break, was not up to his standards. Faced with having only a handful of games left in his high school basketball career, he has turned it on and has played at an All-Conference level over the last two weeks.
In the five games since Christmas break, Burkett has scored an average of 15.6 points per game and has made 17 from beyond the arc. The offensive boost he has provided the Spartans has taken some pressure off of Peacock and Lozinski, who did the majority of the scoring for Berthoud in the opening month of the season. Furthermore, having another offensive weapon on the floor, especially one who can shoot from long range, will provide a big boost for the Spartans as they navigate a brutal TVC schedule with the aim of making the state playoffs for the first time in years.
Berthoud (5-8, 2-4 TVC) will travel up to Windsor (7-6, 4-2 TVC), who are now classified as a 5A team, for their next contest on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
- December, 04 2015
Spartans top rebels in thrilling seas...
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor Berthoud’s Patrick Barron goes up for...
- December, 04 2014
Berthoud boys start the season off right
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor Berthoud’s McCallan Castles charges past a...
- February, 04 2016
Boys basketball get much-needed win
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor Berthoud’s Jamie Gray takes it to...
- December, 22 2016
Turnovers doom Spartans against Thomp...
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor On paper, a 1-8 record does not look good. But...
- February, 08 2019
Berthoud boys make coaching change, d...
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor It’s extremely rare for a high school team to make...
- January, 05 2017
Bad second quarter dooms boys basketball
By Dan Karpiel The Surveyor Eight minutes might not seem like a long time. But...
- Dick Monfort breaks his silence, addr...
- Berthoud baseball ends season with me...
- Spartan baseball flies by Summit with...
- Berthoud golf team takes home R2J Cha...
- Berthoud’s Christian Foxworth State B...
- Berthoud golfers begin season swing
- Future appears bright for Berthoud so...
- SportsRoundUp – BHS Golf &...
- Soccer – Berthoud scores huge win in ...
- Cross-country place seventh and ninth...
- Berthoud Girls win cross country regi...
- Berthoud girls play chase
- Young Spartans win championship
- Halloween spooky in Severance for Ber...
- Berthoud wins double-overtime thrille...
- Berthoud girls basketball season ends...
- Berthoud girls great in Great Eight w...
- Berthoud girls dominate Golden 69-46,...
- TPC Colorado hosting Best-Ball Tourna...
- Berthoud golfer Kyra McDonald qualifi...
- Spartans sports roundup
- Berthoud softball falls to Roosevelt,...
- Berthoud softball – a year to grow
- Lady Spartans off to a hot start
- A meet to remember for the Berthoud s...
- Lady Spartans place second Tri-Valley...
- Berthoud girl’s swimming lookin...
- Spartan tennis dominates Mountain Vie...
- Spartans sports roundup
- Berthoud High School sports roundup
- Berthoud girls take second conference...
- Buckley, Siruta, Schmad and Rafferty ...
- Bonds off the track lead to record-br...
- Berthoud wrestlers top Sterling for r...
- Two Spartan wrestlers earn titles at ...
- Fifth-ranked Berthoud grapplers prepa...
Great news for Berthoud
Local News2020 Overview: Part 2
Local NewsAccident near Fickel Park Monday
Local NewsNews Bites January 7, 2020
Local News2020 Overview: Part 1
Local News
COMMUNITY CALENDAR:
Community Calendar – add an eventSing Out for SafeHouse 2021
14 Mar 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM