The Bayfield High School boys basketball team ran out of gas at the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A State Tournament, ending its season against the always tough Colorado Springs Christian on Friday evening.

The No. 22-seeded Wolverines (11-11) hit a wall in the form of No. 11 Colorado Springs Christian (18-5) and the Lions proceeded to beat the Wolverines, 66-56.

“We refuse to ever quit, and finish everything that we do,” Bayfield head coach Jeff Lehnus said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Our kids have a lot of heart. We knew they were going to be a force. We had great effort against that team.”

Bayfield fought valiantly all night, hanging within two points for most of the game and even taking the lead in the second quarter at 32-30.

The Lions were too powerful down low, however, and pressed on the gas in the fourth quarter. A late Bayfield comeback was too little, too late for the Wolverines, as they finished the season at .500.

The outlook is bright for the Wolverines. Both high scorers for Bayfield were underclassmen with sophomore Ryan Phelps leading the way with 17 points and freshman Keyon Prior adding 15.

“(Keyon) has really developed, and I’m very excited about having him around for the next three years,” Lehnus said.

With both Phelps and Prior having big games, and with Hunter Killough and Brian Mashak adding eight points each, Lehnus believes his team has a very bright future.

“I like to build on what we’ve been doing here,” Lehnus said. “I want to keep striving and progressing. I think we have the players to do it. We can be a top team again.”

Leading Colorado Springs Christian was Trey Nielson with 18 points and Samuel Howard with 16.

With Colorado Springs Christian’s size advantage, Bayfield hung in the rebounding category. The Lions won, but only by 26-23.

jmentzer@durangoherald.com