CORTEZ – It’s the script that plays out on countless driveways, recreation centers and gyms – anywhere with a hoop and a dream. Kids run through the scene with their friends – tie game, time winding down, the home crowd holding its collective breath, a championship on the line.
For Montezuma-Cortez junior Trey Hall and the Panthers, Saturday’s regional final had all the elements of a cinematic blockbuster.
With eight seconds remaining in a tied contest, head coach Mike Hall called a timeout to draw up a play that his players will remember for the rest of their lives.
Hall caught the ball at midcourt as the seconds ticked away and his teammates pulled defenders away while sophomore Justin Bane set a screen to open the lane. Hall attacked to his left, rising from short range for a shot that seemed destined to be the game-winner.
But the ball rolled around the rim and bounced out. With overtime appearing imminent, Hall outleaped a pair of The Classical Academy defenders and sent one more attempt airborne just as the horn sounded.
Hollywood could not have scripted the second-chance putback any better. As Hall’s second effort glanced off the backboard and nestled in the basket, the Panthers could not have envisioned a prettier finish.
Moments later, after the mob of orange-and-white cleared around Hall, the Panthers pulled out a ladder and cut down the nets that Hall had just split. The dramatic finish sealed a 52-50 win over the No. 18 Titans, sending M-CHS back to the state quarterfinals for the first time in seven years.
“We set up the play for Justin to set a big screen for Trey,” Hall said of the game-deciding play. “It was a hell of a finish for a hell of a game.”
M-CHS led for virtually the entire game, holding an eight-point advantage with five minutes to play, only for TCA to storm back and tie the game in the waning moments. The Panthers kept their composure, delivering free throws and key stops to ensure M-CHS would not let its lead slip away.
Hall’s final basket pushed him to 21 points, leading M-CHS in scoring, but it was the defense of the Panthers seniors that drew Mike Hall’s biggest praise following the game. Playing in their final home game, Wyatt Oliver and Trace Hartsoe were tasked with slowing down TCA’s leading scorers, Wilson Grothe and Trace Cook.
“Trace and Wyatt put it on their shoulders, both last night (against Rifle) and today,” Hall added. “It was pure senior leadership right there.”
While Grothe finished with a game-high 26 points, the Panthers made him work for each basket. Trailing 50-48, Grothe missed a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left before teammate Trace Cook collected an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to tie the game, setting up the final Panther heroics.
M-CHS (25-0) jumped out early against its Colorado Springs-based opponent, TCA, leading 11-6 after one quarter on the strength of junior Kaleb Schmitt and sophomore Justin Bane’s combined six points. Schmitt, back in the starting lineup after a Friday night injury to sophomore Ah-dae Lang, made his mark on the game, scoring six points before the break, including baskets during a Panther 8-0 run late in the first half that gave the hosts a 21-15 halftime lead.
The M-CHS run countered a TCA 9-0 surge that gave the visitors their first and only lead of the game at 15-13 before the Panthers responded.
“I knew I had to fill a big hole – Ah-dae’s one of our leaders – and I tried to step into that role as best as I could,” Schmitt said after scoring his second-highest output of the season.
Both teams struggled from the perimeter through the first two-and-a-half quarters – neither made a 3-pointer until M-CHS senior Wyatt Oliver hit one late in the third. TCA (15-10) responded with 3-pointers of its own as the game opened up.
“We wanted to pressure the ball, make them dribble the full length of the court – which we knew wasn’t going to be easy for them,” Hall said of the Panthers keeping the TCA top shooters under wraps for most of the night.
Schmitt and Hartsoe scored to give M-CHS a 37-29 lead early in the fourth quarter, and it looked as if the Panthers might pull away – only for Grothe and Cook to fuel a rally.
“This is what we’ve been working for all year,” Schmitt said. “It’s hard to put into words just how happy we are right now.”
Hall and Schmitt made six free throws when TCA fouled to try to catch up. Schmitt finished with 10 points, to go with six from Bane and four apiece from Hartsoe and junior Asher Bennetts.
“I knew from when these kids were young, that they had a chance to do something like this – they deserve this opportunity,” Hall said.
M-CHS advances to the Great Eight for the first time since M-CHS assistant coaches Teagan Whiteskunk and Cordell Baer led the Panthers to the Class 3A quarterfinals in 2019.
The Panthers face No. 10 University at the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday, March 11, with a place in Friday’s Final Four on the line. All the action from the Panthers’ state tournament run can be heard on 98.7 FM KRTZ and online at krtzradio.com.
