A slow third quarter from the Bayfield High School boys basketball team allowed the Mean Moose to pull away and pick up a 47-32 victory Saturday at BHS.
“The third quarter got away from us,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “It was a good first half with both teams getting after it. We were up a little at half, but the third quarter didn’t go our way and got away from us. But give credit to Alamosa. They came out and got to the basket a little bit more, and we struggled to make some shots and execute some things.”
Lehnus said the offensive mishaps of the Wolverines (8-5, 3-1 3A Intermountain League) were a combination of a good defensive effort from the second-ranked Mean Moose (10-1, 4-0 IML), and the Wolverines missing shots they normally make.
BHS was without starting point guard Keyon Prior, who has missed the last two-plus games with an ankle injury, and Lehnus said Prior’s presence on the floor was missed.
“Tonight it showed a little bit,” Lehnus said of missing Prior. “There was more pressure on the ball and there’s a reason he’s our point guard. Everyone came in and contributed, and it’s not like we did poorly, but he’s the starting point guard for a reason. I think tonight it showed not having his penetration ability and his lateral foot speed to contain opposing drives.”
Hayden Farmer led BHS with 12 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Ryan Phelps added eight points and McKay Wells had six points.
Noah Romero led Alamosa with 15 points.
Bayfield will next face Montezuma-Cortez (7-4, 2-1 IML) on Friday in Cortez.
The Ignacio High School boys basketball team continued its dominance of 2A/1A San Juan Basin League opponents with a 54-36 victory against Norwood Saturday night in Norwood.
The win moved the Bobcats to 8-3 overall and 6-0 in league play. Norwood fell to 1-8 overall and 1-3 in the SJBL.
IHS head coach Chris Valdez was not available for comment, and statistics were not available.
Turnovers by the Durango High School boys basketball team in the second half allowed Fruita Monument to pull away for a 59-16 victory Saturday in Fruita.
“We executed perfectly fine,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “It was something like 23-11 in the last couple minutes of the third quarter, so we were executing perfectly fine and playing good defense, but we didn’t handle their pressure very well. There were four turnovers in a row and they got it up to 32-12 and never looked back.”
The Demons (3-10, 1-1 Southwestern League) kept the Wildcats (10-7, 2-1 SWL) in check with a 2-3 zone defense that forced Fruita in to tough shots.
Martin Cuntz provided good minutes off the bench for Durango with seven points.
Durango will play at Montezuma-Cortez (7-4) in a nonleague game Tuesday in Cortez.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Ignacio High School girls basketball team has yet to be tested in 2A/1A San Juan Basin League action, as the Bobcats moved to 10-0 overall and 6-0 in league play with a 68-29 victory against Norwood (0-9, 0-3 SJBL) Saturday in Norwood.
The Bobcats have outscored league opponents by 45.8 points per game, but head coach Trae Seibel said the early success hasn’t gone to the girls’ heads.
“Our three main drivers behind our team right now are being humbled, being driven and staying together, and we follow those three things to the best of our ability,” Seibel said. “Right now the ladies have bought into the concept that we haven’t peaked yet. We still have work to do to get better. ... As far as us being 10-0, I think the ladies are staying humble about it, and that’s where I want their mindsets to be.”
Norwood’s Courtney Lemons kept the game close through the opening quarter, but the Bobcats locked the guard down on defense the rest of the game to separate for the lopsided win.
Morgan Herrera led the Bobcats with 26 points, Allisianna Baker-Marquez had 12 and Avionne Gomez added 11.
Ignacio will host Nucla (1-7, 1-2 SJBL) on Friday.
The size of the Fruita Monument Wildcats was too much for the Durango High School girls basketball team to handle, as the Wildcats rolled past the Demons 57-23 Saturday afternoon in Fruita.
“I think after the initial shock of the size and skill, they competed for the most part and that was good to see,” DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said.
The Wildcats (15-1, 3-0 SWL) built a 19-3 lead after the first quarter and cruised to the victory.
Maddy McManus led the Demons (4-10, 1-1 SWL) with eight points. Fitzpatrick said Tayler Dossey and Elise Gilleland played good minutes in the loss.
Angelique Gall led Fruita with 15 points, and Riley Snyder had 12 points.
DHS will play at Montezuma-Cortez (2-9) in a nonleague game Tuesday in Cortez.
A fourth-quarter rally pushed the Alamosa High School girls basketball team past Bayfield for a hard-fought 41-38 win Saturday at Bayfield High School.
In a close game the whole way, Bayfield (3-9, 1-3 3A Intermountain League) took a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Wolverines couldn’t build a big enough lead to put away the Mean Moose (6-4, 2-2 IML), who took a four-point lead in the final 90 seconds and held on to win.
“I thought the girls did a really good job of breaking the press and played with a lot more composure,” BHS head coach Josh Kitchen said. “That’s something the girls have been improving on game by game. I thought we had contributions across the board. A lot of girls stepped up and did good things for us tonight.”
BHS juniors Jordan and Tymbree Florian had 12 and nine points, respectively and freshman Kira Riley added eight points.
Bayfield will host Sargent (4-6) in a nonleague game Tuesday.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
