CONEJOS COUNTY – Having seen a certain Bayfield senior’s last-minute heroics steal victory in the previous night’s first semifinal, Centauri’s Chaz Holman knew the Falcons could very well face a similar fate if plans to limit Jackson Queen’s touches weren’t followed to the letter.
“When he starts making, there’s nothing that can stop him,” the junior point guard said following the 3A Intermountain League District Tournament boys’ championship on Saturday at CHS. “No. 4’s a heck of a player; we couldn’t let him get on fire or else it’d be a lot tougher game than it already was.”
Having demolished roster-depleted Ignacio 81-26 in the second semi, ‘tough’ may not have been enough of an adjective to describe the event-hosting side’s initial struggles against a BHS bunch – still psyched after shocking Montezuma-Cortez 63-61 less than 24 hours earlier – with nothing to lose.
And though the Falcons built a quick 8-2 lead, they knew the real game had started when Bayfield senior Silas Wilbourn, responding to a clutch three from CHS Troy Sowards, crashed inside for a bucket to cut Centauri’s advantage to 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Sowards began the second stanza with a free throw, but everything the Falcons had achieved was negated when Queen, held to just two points in the first, dropped in a midrange runner in the paint tying the score at 14 with 5:18 left until intermission. CHS head coach Larry Mortensen called a timeout, but Wolverine senior Caden Wood would soon knock down two free throws to get the designated visitors their first lead.
Proving invaluable with the starting five combining for just four first-half field goals, Sowards struck from long distance again, regaining Centauri a 17-16 lead with 3:26 left. It was forgotten when Holman, battling for possession, crashed onto the court and appeared to reinjure his well-wrapped left shoulder 27 seconds later.
A Max Meyers basket put BHS up 18-17, but Falcon senior Mason Sowards made a late free throw to send the crews to their respective locker rooms deadlocked on the scoreboard.
“I think we came into the game too anticipative, and finally at halftime we all understood that we needed to come out and start doing something,” Holman said. “This was a must-win game … and our shots weren’t falling. So we knew we had to drive to the basket. That’s what we did, got some shots, and then other shots started falling.”
And whereas Queen’s heart-stopping trey with 4.5 seconds left in regulation had felled M-CHS (he logged a game-high 20 points), Centauri found badly-needed inspiration in Holman, who returned to duty beginning the third quarter.
Assisted by Queen, Bayfield senior Lance Mazur restarted play with a three, but after CHS senior Kolten Johnson stole a Mazur inbounds pass and converted it into a breakaway layup, Holman drained a go-ahead three with 6:02 remaining. The shot triggered a game-changing 12-0 run – highlighted by a Troy Sowards triple and senior Leighton Curtis’ impressive up-and-under layup through two defenders – putting the Falcons up 32-21.
Meyers then hit a jumper over Kaleb Anderson, briefly interrupting the onslaught, but Centauri closed out the quarter with a breakaway layup from junior Kiler Ullery, plus a Holman three.
Up 39-25 as the final frame got underway, the Falcons (18-3 overall) let little come of BHS sophomore Lincoln Williams’ quarter-starting three-ball, as Holman then dished off to Anderson inside for a two in swift reply.
Held to just nine points, Queen’s only trey would bring Bayfield (9-12) to 51-37. With 18.4 seconds left Ullery put one last exclamation mark on a 56-37 victory with an and-one conversion stemming from Meyers’ disqualifying fifth personal foul.
Meyers finished with a BHS-leading 10 points. Wood totaled six and Mazur five. Wilbourn ended up with all four of the Wolverines’ bench points, while CHS’ backups racked up 23 – led by Troy Sowards’ 10 and Ullery’s seven. Holman registered a game-high 14 points, with Curtis contributing seven and Anderson six.
“Our bench … knew our starters weren’t doing as good as we usually do, and stepped up … did what they needed to do,” Holman said. “Especially Troy. He came in, hit some good threes and gave us momentum. He really helped us.”
The Wolverines’ strength-of-schedule ratings plus district-tournament result equaled the No. 24 seed when the Class 3A state bracket was revealed.
Placed in Lake County-hosted Region VIII, BHS will travel to Leadville to first challenge 9-seed Yuma at 7 p.m. Friday in the round-of-32. Yuma, last season’s Class 2A state champion with a 25-1 record, slipped to 16-5 overall this winter in 3A following a loss to Arvada Faith Christian in the Metro/Confluence/Lower Platte League District Tournament’s championship.
Seeded eighth, LCHS (16-5) will meet 25-seed Meeker (14-8) at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The winning teams will then vie for first place – and a berth in the eight-team state championships – at 1 p.m. Saturday.
