.png)
After winning the 3A Intermountain League district championship for the first time since 1992, the Bayfield High School boys basketball team received the No. 5 seed in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 3A boys basketball state tournament.
It’s the team that got the No. 12 seed and who could meet BHS in the Sweet 16 that is disturbing, as Alamosa (18-3) will return to Wolverines Gymnasium this weekend and could face BHS in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
“Alamosa in the same bracket is disappointing for both of us,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “You go all season and want to see some new teams, and then your top two teams in your league end up together? I’m not pleased with that.”
Bayfield (15-6) will open play in the 32-team tournament against No. 28 Delta (12-10). The Panthers finished in fourth place at 6-3 in the 3A Western Slope League and are coming off back-to-back double-digit losses to No. 7 Coal Ridge and No. 9 Basalt.
“Delta first,” Lehnus said. “We have to take care of one game at a time. Now our job is to learn about Delta and prepare for them.”
If the Wolverines can beat Delta, they could potentially face the familiar Mean Moose in the second round. No. 12 Alamosa (18-3) has a first-round matchup against No. 21 Rye (14-9), and the winner will play either BHS or Delta. If Bayfield and Alamosa win, the Mean Moose will collide with the Wolverines for a fourth time this season.
BHS beat Alamosa 56-54 Saturday to win the district title. The two rivals split during the regular season, as Alamosa beat Bayfield 56-40 on Jan. 25 in Alamosa, but the Wolverines got revenge 65-62 Feb. 10 at BHS. The rivalry has fueled fan tension, and law enforcement had to escort referees out of the gymnasium Saturday because of fan behavior.
It’s a matchup neither team wanted on either team’s home floor. Alamosa came in at No. 9 in the final RP standings, falling from No. 5 a night earlier. BHS climbed from No. 11 to No. 8 in the RPI, which is used to select playoff seedings in CHSAA state playoffs across most sports. However, the 3A boys bracket did not follow RPI strictly.
Geography is likely a cause for the IML foes landing in the same bracket. That’s not an explanation that will calm fans in this region who routinely travel to the furthest reaches of the state for playoff tournaments.
“Wherever we go we have to travel,” Lehnus said. “We’ve earned for people to travel to us by doing what we’ve done. That excuse is unacceptable to me.”
Friday’s games in Bayfield will likely be scheduled for 5 and 6:30 p.m., with Bayfield-Rye being the late game. A time for Saturday’s Sweet 16 game has yet to be determined..
Undefeated No. 4 seed Resurrection Christian (22-0) is the top seed in Bayfield’s quadrant of the bracket. If Bayfield can win its first three games, it may be forced to play the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Kent Denver (19-3), in the Elite 8. The Wolverines played Kent Denver in their first game of the season and lost 75-61.
On the other side of the tournament bracket, Manitou Springs (20-2) was awarded the second seed, and Colorado Springs Christian came in at No. 3 despite a one-point overtime win against Manitou Springs in its district tournament championship Saturday night.
The bracket is set, and the two-week march for the title is ready to begin.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
