Seeing a familiar foe eliminate the team which had, the day before, upset and eliminated them from the Class 3A State Championships' opening Round-of-32 may have been a small comfort to the Wolverines.
But more likely, Intermountain League rival Alamosa's win over Delta had to remind Bayfield how hungry it had been to earn the trip to Denver.
And how hungry it will again be in the 2017-18 campaign, with four of five All-IML and Honorable Mention All-IML recipients primed to return - starting with center/forward Ryan Phelps.
The junior pivot posted averages of 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in earning All-League along with senior guard Brian Mashak (6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 steals per game) and sophomore guard Keyon Prior (9.4 ppg, 2.4 assists per game).
Phelps had 50 percent accuracy from the floor, including 32 percent from three-point land, and 65 percent from the free-throw line.
Prior hit a strong 47 percent of his total attempts and 32 percent from downtown, while Mashak hit 43 percent from the field.
Junior guard Dax Snooks (5.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and sophomore forward/guard Hayden Farmer (9.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) both received Honorable Mention, while BHS Head Coach Jeff Lehnus shared Coach of the Year honors with Alamosa's Brandon Brubacher.
Player-of-the-Year went to Moose senior guard Ryan Brubacher, who averaged 20.3 points, 5.1 boards and 2.4 steals per game.
Joining Brubacher on the All-League roster were:
AHS junior forward/center Angelo Ramirez and junior guard Noah Romero, Montezuma-Cortez junior guard/forward Jasen Engel and senior center Braden Keetch, Pagosa Springs junior guard/forward Isaiah Griego and junior guard Keaton Laverty, Monte Vista sophomore guard David Mascarenas, and Centauri junior guard/forward Nate Anderson.
Alamosa sophomore guard/forward Chad Jackson and senior forward Armando Gonzales received Honorable Mention along with M-CHS junior guard Daniel Fernandez and PSHS senior forward Ethan Brown.
Like Bayfield (15-7 overall), which lost 78-75 to DHS, Pagosa Springs also qualified for the Round-of-32 but lost 74-55 to Loveland Resurrection Christian - leaving the Pirates with a final record of 10-13. A similar fate also befell Montezuma-Cortez (7-14), as the Panthers lost 57-39 to Manitou Springs.
Reaching Denver University's Hamilton Gymnasium via a 50-38 win over Delta, Alamosa's run ended with a 76-59 loss to Arvada Faith Christian, leaving the Moose 20-4 overall.
Faith Christian (18-9) lost the state championship by a point, 48-47, to Sterling (22-5) as the upset-filled bracket's 10-seed downed the No. 13.
