BAYFIELD – Down 21 points in the fourth quarter, the Bayfield boys basketball team fought back with the ferocity of its Wolverine mascot.
It wasn’t enough to bring down a Panther, as No. 28 Delta couldn’t miss a shot in the first three quarters and held off two Bayfield 3-point chances in the final seconds to secure a 78-75 victory in the opening round of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A Boys Basketball State Tournament.
“The team we are and the team we’ve been and have grown to be to accomplish what we have, showed its face and Bayfield pride in that last 5 minutes,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “We had two shots to tie the darn game. How can you even get it to that point? That’s the heart of these kids and team.”
BHS (15-7) made three buzzer-beating shots on its way to a five-seed in the state tournament. The two boys responsible for those buzzer-beaters, Keyon Prior and Ryan Phelps, had the team’s final two shots of the game. Prior’s long 3 hit the back of the rim with less than 10 seconds to play. Then, with only 0.2 seconds on the clock, Phelps caught an in-bounds pass in mid-air and instantly released a shot. It fell harmlessly a foot to the right of going in.
It ended a historic season for the Wolverines and sent the No. 28 Panthers (13-10) into the Sweet 16, where they will pace No. 12 Alamosa (19-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Bayfield. The winner will advance to the Great 8 at Denver University.
“We’ve hit some wonderful shots this year,” Lehnus said. “It just wasn’t meant to be tonight. Yet we have it a chance, never quit. The boys live what we try to teach. They’re the epitome of hard, smart and fun together.
“No matter what, we always believe we can still win. That really showed its face. I’ve had some great teams over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of anything as that.”
BHS trailed 40-29 at halftime, and it would’ve been worse without a Phelps 3 at the buzzer. The team was out of sync on both ends, but primarily on defense. After allowing only 52 points per game on average all season, the Panthers surpassed that mark early in the third quarter.
Trailing 67-46 with 5 minutes to play, BHS sophomore Hayden Farmer made two 3-pointers and made a big block defensively to give the Wolverines some life. It was 72-57 with 2:31 to play, but 31 seconds later, the Wolverines had trimmed the gap to 73-61. The tide had turned, and something special was brewing.
Still, Delta’s Jonathan Robinson answered back with a layup while fouled, and he made the free throw to extend the Delta lead back to 15 points.
With 1:12 to play, BHS cut the Delta lead to 76-65, as senior Brian Mashak wasn’t about to let his career end without a late flurry. His scrambling defensive play and six late points led the charge.
Prior had a floater attempt blocked back into his own hands. He gathered the ball, dribbled to the corner outside the 3-point line and knocked down a shot to make it a single-digit Delta lead at 76-68 with 54 seconds to go.
Then everything got completely crazy. A Delta player was whistled for stepping on the free-throw line before his shot. Leading 77-68, the Delta bench was whistled for a technical. The team and its fans were frustrated with the officiating all night, but Delta head coach Von Mitchell maintained his bench did nothing to deserve a technical. Then, Mitchell got a second technical foul to give Bayfield four free throws and the ball. Prior made three of the four free throws, and BHS trailed 77-71 with 51 seconds to go.
Bayfield turned the ball over on its possession, but McKay Wells stole the ball back and raced down the floor for a layup to make it 77-73 with 34 seconds to play.
Phelps flew to the rim for a rebound and put back on the next BHS possession, giving the junior 32 points to go along with double-digit rebounds and three blocked shots. His basket cut the deficit to 78-75.
Delta missed a pair of free throws on its next possession and finished 7-of-17 from the free-throw line in the game. But Prior couldn’t hit a long 3, and the final Phelps shot was just off line to end the season.
Two years ago, BHS was the No. 28 seed and advanced to the Great 8 and made some noise. This year, that could be Delta.
“I’m so proud of us,” said Delta senior Beau Byers, who had a team-high 22 points. “We’re a pretty young group. I saw a fire lit in them. I’ve always had that fire, but I never had anyone to share it with.”
Delta couldn’t miss a shot in the second and third quarters. Byers was unstoppable off the dribble and routinely made the right pass to an open teammate or finished at the rack himself. Nine players scored for the Panthers, and five made a 3-pointer.
“Those kids hit the shots at those times. Good team effort,” coach Mitchell said.
Byers huddled the team up as the game was unraveling. The senior showed leadership and kept the team’s spirits up. He said he watched Alamosa’s Noah Romero in the 5 p.m. game and wanted to mimic the big game the Mean Moose guard had. Romero scored 25 points in a 52-44 win against No. 21 Rye.
“We haven’t played our best game all year,” Byers said. “We felt it in that second and third quarters.”
BHS will lose only one senior in Mashak and return a talented group of players who won their first share of a regular-season league title since 1996 and first district tournament since 1992.
“We hurt because we didn’t want it to end tonight,” Lehnus said.
“It’s a darn shame we won’t get that rematch with Alamosa tomorrow. There’s no next game.
“We’re excited about next year. Brian is a big piece to lose, but kids are stepping up. They will learn from this like we always do. They’ll learn the intensity it takes to win tournament basketball.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
